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Rescue efforts for boys trapped in Thai cave begin
MAE SAI, Thailand, July 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Elite divers on Sunday began
the extremely dangerous operation to extract 12 boys and their football coach
who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more
than two weeks, with some of the rescuers reaching the area where the team is
sheltering.
The “Wild Boars” team has been stuck in a cramped chamber several
kilometres (miles) inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23, when
they went in after football practice and were hemmed in by rising waters.
Their plight has transfixed Thailand and the rest of the world, as
authorities struggled to devise a plan to get the boys and their coach out
through twisting, narrow and jagged passageways that in some places are
completely flooded.
“Today is the D-day. The boys are ready to face any challenges,” rescue
chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters near the cave site as weather
forecasters warned of more monsoon rains late on Sunday that would cause
further flooding in the cave.
Narongsak said the first boy was expected to be brought out of the cave by
around 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) after navigating the planned six-hour journey.
However another operation commander said the operation would take two to
three days to complete, with the boys and their coach being brought out one-
by-one, and that the weather conditions would play a role in determining how
long it would take.
The boys, aged from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were found
dishevelled and hungry by British cave diving specialists nine days after
they ventured in.
But initial euphoria over finding the boys alive quickly turned into deep
anxiety as rescuers raced to find a way to get them out, with Narongsak at
one point dubbing the effort “Mission Impossible”.
The death of a former Thai Navy SEAL diver who ran out of oxygen in the
cave on Friday underscored the danger of the journey even for professionals.
After a short deluge of rain on Saturday night and with more bad weather
forecast, Narongsak on Sunday said authorities had to act immediately.
“There is no other day that we are more ready than today,” he said.
“Otherwise we will lose the opportunity.”
Between the operating base manned by Thai Navy SEALs inside the cave and
the trapped boys are twisting, turning cave passageways with torrents of
water gushing through.
The water in the cave is muddy and unclear, with one diver comparing it to
a cafe latte. Ropes have been installed to help guide the boys through the
darkness.
Narongsak said Sunday two divers would escort each of the boys out of the
cave.
The local government said in a statement later on Sunday that 10
international divers had progressed into the cave and some had reached the
point where the team is.
“Due to the complexity of the cave, we cannot give any indication about
when the first group of children will be able to come out,” the statement
said.
“The divers will work with the medical team inside the cave to determine
who should be brought out first.”
– Rescue efforts –
Officials had looked at many different ways to save the boys and their
coach.
One early potential plan was to leave them there for months until the
monsoon season ended and the floods subsided completely, but that idea was
scrapped over concerns about falling oxygen levels and waters rising too
high.
More than 100 exploratory holes were also bored — some shallow, but the
longest 400 metres deep — into the mountainside in an attempt to open a
second evacuation route and avoid forcing the boys into the dangerous dive.
American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk even deployed engineers from his
private space exploration firm SpaceX and Boring Co. to help.
Meanwhile rescuers fed a kilometres-long air pipe into the cave to restore
oxygen levels in the chamber where the team was sheltering with medics and
divers.
– Emotional notes –
On Saturday, Thai Navy SEALs published touching notes scrawled by the
trapped footballers to their families, who had been waiting for them
agonisingly close by outside the cave entrance.
The boys urged relatives “not to worry” and asked for their favourite food
once they were safely evacuated, in notes handed to divers.
In one, Pheerapat, nicknamed “Night”, whose 16th birthday the group were
celebrating in the cave when they became stuck on June 23, said: “I love you,
Dad, Mum and my sister. You don’t need to be worried about me.”
The coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, who many Thais have criticised for leading
the boys into the cave, also apologised.
“To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the
very best care of the kids,” he said in a note given to divers on Friday.
“Thank you for all the moral support and I apologise to the parents.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1715 hrs