Josh Richards, Laos Cave Rescue (PEOPLE 2026)

Mikko Paasi checking on a rescued miner in the medical tent immediatel after the first successful underwater extraction during the Laos Cave Rescue. Mikko and Norased Palasing had crawled through hundreds of meters of claustrophic cave to reach the trapped miners, briefly taught them how to use scuba equipment, then pulled the pictured miner through the underwater passage while 4 others remained trapped

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.