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"Our availability is at its highest today, today it is D-Day," said Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn, adding that families had been informed of plan and had given their support to the relief effort.
At 10 am local time, an international contingent of 13 specialized divers descended into the aquatic network of underground tunnels under the Mae Sai Mountains, taking with them the hopes of an entire nation.
who remained trapped in the caves for 15 days, pierced Thailand, as relief became increasingly urgent.
Rescuers saw a window of opportunity reduced, forecasters predicting the return of heavy monsoon rains. the next few days, effectively sealing the cave until October.
Race Against Time
On the caves site, volunteers attending the operation described the rescue attempt as a "now or never" scenario. 19659002] The boys and their trainer are grouped together in a small room 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) inside the cave, surrounded by flood waters and with a limited supply of oxygen.
To reach them, divers will have to navigate successfully through a network of narrow tunnels, with officials close to the operation, suggesting that rescuers will use a "twinning" system, each diver being paired with a child . Additional oxygen tanks will also be positioned along the road.
Signs of a rescue operation were evident in the hours before the announcement, authorities installing a large green tarp around the entrance to the cave and removing the media from it. ;outside.
On the road leading to the tunnels, an almost continuous convoy of trucks and military vehicles delivered troops and medical equipment, including a large cache of oxygen tanks. On Saturday evening, many international military advisers were seen entering the site, later followed by four monks in orange robes.
At the entrance to the site, a newly placed thin white decorative flag fluttered in the wind, a Buddhist panel. to indicate positive energy.
High Risk
Hopes were high that another means of rescue would be discovered. For days, teams of specialists have traveled the mountains above the cave in search of a hidden entry point.
Divers have already described the conditions in the cave network as the most extreme that they have ever known. boys using divers would not have been taken lightly. On Friday, a former Thai Navy member died while he was returning from an operation to deliver oxygen tanks to the cave where the boys are.
Even if the divers are successful, it will take several hours before the fate of the boys and their rescuers will be known. Thai authorities say it takes about 11 hours for divers to finish round trip.
Finnish volunteer diver Mikko Paasi, a long-time resident in Thailand, said that the death of the Thai navy SEAL had changed the mood on the ground and made the task dangerous for rescuers
. You can feel that this has an effect, but we continue … Everyone is a professional, so we try to tidy it up and prevent it from happening again, "he said, adding: "Everyone Focuses on
High Spirits
In the hours leading up to the rescue, a letter that the boys had sent to their families was published on the" Thai SEALS " . The Facebook page. The letter shows the boys in a good mood despite their ordeal.
In a neat blue writing, Chanin Viboonrungruang, 11, the youngest of the group, told his parents not to worry, and said he was anxious to eat fried. chicken.
Her parents, who, along with other families, have been keeping a constant vigil on the site since the boys were trapped.
While reading the letter Saturday night, Chanin's father, Tanawut Viboonrungruang, said that he felt a great deal of relief. "I had been worried about my son, that he would be exhausted, he would be tired," he said.
For families, waiting for news of the rescue of their boys has been atrocious.
"I worried about him because there were obstacles to extracting it, everyone knows that it's hard to stay inside (the cave)" J & Hope he's still healthy and that he'll be out soon, I want to send him my support, I do not have the chance to talk with him, "he said.
CNN's Jo Shelly, Kocha Olarn, Sandi Sidhu and journalist Lalinda Siribadmanut contributed to this report.
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