what is known about the ongoing rescue of teens trapped in the flooded cave

Operations are progressing but the hardest is undoubtedly to come. Eight of twelve teenagers aged 11 to 16 trapped for a fortnight with their football coach in a flooded cave in Thailand were evacuated and transferred to hospital, Sunday 8 and Monday 9 July. Relief operations were suspended Monday night and resume Tuesday to rescue the remaining five people. Here is what we know about this extraordinary evacuation.

Four new rescues Monday

The day after the successful extraction of the first four boys by elite divers, the rescuers recovered four others on Monday, guided along a tortuous course. "Two days, eight wild boars" the name of their football team, laconically wrote the Thai Navy commandos, at the center of the rescue operation, in the evening of Monday, on their Facebook page

The teams of divers had to rest between the two evacuations and replace oxygen bottles along the route, hence the interval. Baptized by the social networks "wild boars 1, 2, 3, 4", the first four boys are fine, according to the head of the crisis cell. However, they are "kept apart" from their parents, to prevent them from being contaminated by viruses that could weaken them a little more. "Doctors plan to allow families to visit, but separated by glbad" Operations coordinator says

Monsoon rains still threaten

"All world can be proud, but the mission is not over yet " said the head of the ruling junta in Thailand, General Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who visited the site of the operation late afternoon. The parents of the last children to be evacuated wait at the entrance of the cave to find their children.

Thailand as a whole is hoping for a happy ending for the children and their 25-year-old coach stuck in the cave since 23 June from Thuam Luang. The monsoon rain threatening to flood this complex underground network is the main challenge for rescuers. The latter fear new precipitation before the release of the entire group. The lack of space to place enough oxygen cylinders also adds to the complexity of operations.

The operation started earlier than expected

Rescuers have been wondering for days about whether to trigger a perilous evacuation, monsoon rains expected soon could ruin the continued efforts to drain the water from the cave. But Saturday night and Sunday, showers fell, recalling the urgency to get the children out.

Sunday morning, the head of the Crisis Staff had so announced that the "great day" of the rescue operation had finally come. The conditions for an evacuation were judged "perfect" these days by the Crisis Cell, especially with regard to the water level in the cave. A Chinese diver involved in the operation had explained on Saturday that the water levels in the cave had "much backed down" pumping out millions of liters of water. And an Australian doctor checked the health of the boys and gave the go-ahead to start the rescue.

A journey of several kilometers

About ten kilometers long in rough hulls, the route out of the cave includes difficult pbadages under water, whose width does not exceed 60 centimeters in places . In addition to these pitfalls, the situation is complicated by the fact that many of the children can not swim and none have ever dive. A former Thai Navy diver died there on Friday during a refueling operation, testifying to the great difficulty of the company, even for professionals.

A hundred or so divers from Thailand and abroad mobilized

90 divers, including 50 foreigners, are engaged in the operation, according to the chief of rescue operations. "The United States is working closely with the Government of Thailand to help evacuate all children" tweeted Sunday evening US President Donald Trump. Americans are indeed among the many countries participating in the operation.

Journalists kept at bay

The rescuers have evacuated journalists around the cave. No image of the operation has emerged for the time being as Thai authorities have created a large security perimeter around the area. "All those who are not involved in the operation must leave the area immediately" Police announced loudspeaker on the site, where were hundreds of journalists following this "saga" having International significance