18 divers enter the Thai cave as the deadline approaches to save the football team trapped

<img id = "i-393a68d86a9cd292" src = "https://i.dailymail.co.uk/ i / newpix / 2018/07/08/02 / 4E0153DB00000578-0-image-a-8_1531013677437.jpg "height =" 661 "width =" 962 "alt =" Thousands of rescuers, including SEALs from the Thai Navy and British elite divers, worked around the clock for thousands of lifeguards, including SEALs from the Thai Navy and elite British divers, worked day and night to develop the hungry and hungry boys come home safe and sound

But with the clouds that have already thundered heavy rains for 90 minutes Saturday night, the authorities are eager to continue before they reach the end of the day. it is too late [19659024] Ruamkatanyu Foundation rescuers are seen drilling in the caves of Tham Luang cave ” clbad=”blkBorder img-share” />

Parents and friends gathered to pray aloud for their loved ones who remained in hell hid in hiding for two weeks

Eytan Hongwattana, 48 ans (tante de Mongkol Boonpiam) et son oncle Saeng Hongwattana, 38 ans, posent pour une photo avec le maillot de Mongkol

«C&#39;était un énorme soulagement quand ils furent finalement retrouvés.

&#39;Sa mère et sa petite soeur, mère Pingsorn Thaiyai, montèrent sur la montagne pour l&#39;attendre.

&#39; La petite fille refusait d&#39;aller à l&#39;école parce qu&#39;elle voulait étreindre son frère quand il est sorti.

«Nous pensions qu&#39;il serait sorti dans les cinq jours tout au plus. Après avoir reçu la lettre de Pornchai, ma soeur [mother] se sentait beaucoup mieux. »

L&#39;enseignant de Nattawut Thakamsong, Thongyard Kejorn, qui est proche de la famille , dit MailOnline: «Before Tie [Nattawut Thakamsong] la famille avait une petite fille qui est morte d&#39;un cancer.

&#39;So Tie est leur seul enfant et ils lui sont dévoués.

&#39; Même s&#39;il a 14 ans, le père l&#39;emmène à l&#39;école et la mère le rambade toujours –

&#39;Ils sont dehors depuis deux ans semaines. Ils ne rentrent chez eux que pour des vêtements propres.

«Quand je les ai vus, ils ont fondu en larmes.»

L&#39;équipe de football et l&#39;entraîneur ont été piégés dans la grotte pendant plus de deux semaines.

Des milliers de sauveteurs, y compris des SEAL de la marine thaïlandaise et des plongeurs britanniques d&#39;élite, ont travaillé jour et nuit pour mettre au point un plan visant à ramener les garçons épuisés et affamés à la maison en sécurité

De fortes pluies pendant 90 minutes samedi soir, les autorités ont hâte de continuer avant qu&#39;il ne soit trop tard.

&#39;Maintenant et dans les trois ou quatre prochains jours, les conditions sont parfaites (pour l&#39;évacuation) en termes d&#39;eau, de météo &#39;Gouvernance de Chiang Rai Narongsak Osottanakorn a déclaré:

&#39; Nous devons prendre une décision claire sur ce que nous pouvons faire. & # 39;

Weather forecasts predict sustained thunderstorms lasting through Sunday and Monday, with further stormy weather for the next two weeks.

In another sign that a rescue attempt was imminent, police early on Sunday morning local time began evacuating the area around the cave mouth in preparation – giving everyone until 9am (3am BST) to leave.

&#39;Assessing the situation now, it is necessary to evacuate the area for the rescue operation,&#39; Mae Sai police commander Komsan Sa-ardluan bellowed over a loudspeaker.

&#39;Those unrelated to the rescue operation, please evacuate the area immediately.&#39;

The frantic four-day deadline marked a dramatic U-turn from Governor Narongsak&#39;s press conference just 12 hours earlier.

Then he said the boys were still learning to dive and were not yet strong enough to make the perilous escape through narrow tunnels that are at one point just 15 inches wide.

Navigating the cave system takes an experienced diver more than five hours and the boys were not back at full strength after suffering exhaustion and starvation before rescuers found them.

However, it appeared not only was the imminent monsoon forcing rescuers&#39; hands, but the dwindling oxygen supply inside the cave keeping the boys alive.

&#39;When we&#39;re in a confined space, if the oxygen drops to 12 percent, the human body starts to slow down and people can fall unconscious,&#39; Governor Narongsak said.

&#39;There&#39;s also carbon dioxide. If the oxygen levels are down and the carbon dioxide levels are up, then you can get too much carbon dioxide in your blood.&#39;

Levels in the cave have fallen to 15 per cent – down from a healthy level of 21 per cent – due, ironically, to the presence of so many rescuers trying to free the boys.

Rescuers have fed a kilometres-long air pipe into the cave to restore oxygen levels in the chamber where the team are sheltering, accompanied by medics and expert divers.

More than 100 exploratory holes have also been 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 a dangerous dive through submerged tunnels.

When they were first found, the boys were fed the high-energy glucose gel used by elite sportsmen to rapidly boost their energy levels after so long without food.

Although they have been reintroduced to solid food, it is by necessity all cold, and in their letters to their parents the boys dreamed of fried chicken.

Governor Narongsak foreshadowed plans could rapidly change depending on the weather, as &#39;a heavy downpour comes down into the caves like a tsunami&#39;.

&#39;There is no chance the boys will co me out today. It is not suitable, they still cannot dive,&#39; he said at a long-awaited press conference after midnight on Saturday local time.

&#39;The children are learning how to dive. We&#39;d like minimum risk, but we can&#39;t wait until it rains heavily and worsens the situation.

&#39;If that happens, we&#39;ll need to rebadess. The key thing is the kids&#39; readiness to dive. If it rains, and the situation is not good, we will try to bring the boys out.&#39;

Elite navy divers are on anxious standby to help the schoolboys through the terrifying narrow tunnels that are a huge struggle for even experienced divers to navigate through with murky route.

At its narrowest part, a choke point of just 15 inches, has a sharp upward bend followed by a downward slope.

The boys would have to crawl out of the water swirling with silt in complete darkness guided by divers. Then they must clamber across a rocky peak before descending into the murky waters again.

Officials have long feared the coming torrential rain would catastrophically flood the cave system in Chiang Rai and make rescue impossible.

Should the rains further flood the cave, as predicted, the team could be trapped in the cave for more than four months until waters recede,

However, Governor Narongsak appeared unwilling to let the 12 boys and their coach be stuck for that long, as he laughed when asked if they would be left inside.

He said rescuers &#39;need to make the plan that is the best plan&#39; and were badessing options, they will then test the plan to make sure it will work with a low enough risk.

&#39;If the risk is minimal, we will try. Nous avons peur du temps et de l&#39;oxygène dans la grotte. We have to try to set the plan and find which plan is the best,&#39; he said.

But he appeared to rule out tunneling through the rock to reach them in favour of the boys swimming out in dive gear or being pushed through the tunnel by divers.

&#39;The boys entered through the front of the cave, they will come out through the front,&#39; he said.

Governor Narongsak said the boys were still healthy and have practised wearing diving masks and breathing in preparation for the diving possibility.

When asked if he felt positively about the situation, he replied: &#39;The world is perfect&#39;.

&#39;I&#39;m worried about everyone who participates in the rescue operation,&#39; he added.

Officials have been planning to fit the boys with full-face oxygen masks and extract them two at a time with navy chaperones.

On Friday, after pumping out 130 million litres, the cave water levels had dropped by enough to enable the boys to pbad some secti ons without going un der water. It means that an 11-hour return journey has apparently been cut to less than six.

He said the two British divers had yesterday visited the boys again, who were mostly in good condition, although three were now &#39;quite weak&#39; physically.

&#39;Weaker than the other boys, but not in a serious condition. And they are all mentally strong,&#39; he said 

However, rescue teams are racing against time amid worsening weather and lowered oxygen levels, which may force rescuers to try pulling the boys out before they were fully ready.

&#39;We can no longer wait for all conditions to be ready, because circumstances are pressuring us,&#39; naval chief Apakorn Yukongkaew said.

&#39;At first, we thought the children could stay for a long time, but now things have changed.&#39;

The extreme dangers were brought home on Friday when former Thai navy seal Saman Kunan drowned during the rescue operation&#39;s preparations.

The 38-year-old volunteered to help deliver oxygen tanks though a long underwater tunnel, but got into trouble underwater despite being an expert diver and a super-fit triathlon runner.

His death prompted concerns over how 12 terrified children who cannot even swim would fare on the same hideous journey.

Mr Kunan body was flown to his hometown in Roi Et for a royally-sponsored funeral, with pictures showing military officials transporting his flag-draped coffin.

One of the British divers who initially found the schoolboys has returned to the UK for medical treatment.

When Harper arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport to fly back to the UK, he received a VIP welcome and escort. He was warmly greeted by several Thai officials including the Minister for Tourism and Sports, Weerasak Kowsurat.

The Minister presented a Certification of Appreciation to Rob Harper on behalf of the Kingdom of Thailand.

The certificate read &#39;As recognition of your public service to the citizens of Thailand in providing badistance in rescuing the thirteen Thai indiviuals from the Tham Luang Cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai province.