Buddhist amulet and a friendship forged during Laos rescue mission

"Sometimes friendships are formed in the most unexpected places." That was how Manat K. Artmongkron, a Thai rescuer taking part in a multinational cave rescue mission in Laos' Xaysomboun province, described a touching moment he recently shared on Facebook.

In a mission filled with exhaustion, pressure and hope, Manat said his French teammate, Robin Cuesta, suddenly asked whether he had a Buddhist amulet he could carry as a source of encouragement.

"As fate would have it, I happened to have only one amulet with me that day. An amulet of Luang Por Charoen. I was more than happy to give it to him," Manat wrote.

"To many people, it may seem like a small object of little value but, to me, it represents goodwill, care and encouragement passed from one friend to another.”

"Although we come from different countries, speak different languages and were raised in different cultures, when we stand side by side helping our fellow human beings, our hearts speak the same language," he said.

Manat said the friendship forged between Thai and French rescuers during the mission would remain one of his most cherished memories.

He also shared photographs showing himself and Cuesta, who proudly displayed the amulet.

The rescue operation has now been running for more than two weeks. Although five Laotian workers trapped inside the narrow, partially flooded cave in Rong Chang village were rescued last week, two men remain missing.

The mission has brought together cave-diving and rescue experts from Thailand and several other countries, including veterans of the Tham Luang cave rescue in Chiang Rai in 2018.

Search efforts have now expanded onto the mountains above the cave where the five survivors were found.

Rescuers are searching for shafts or cracks that may connect to underground chambers where the two missing men could be sheltering.

Teams have rappelled down vertical shafts, knocking on the rock as they descended. They reported hearing sounds from within the mountain that they do not believe were echoes, raising hopes that the missing men may yet be located.

Manat also shared lighter moments from the operation, writing that members of the rope team spent their waiting time taking selfies "like teenagers". He jokingly noted that they spent longer taking photographs than expected.

He tagged fellow rescuers Mikko Paasi of Finland, Audita Harsono of Indonesia, Robin Cuesta of France and himself, describing them as friends brought together by the mission.