Cave Thailand, failed attempt to open a breach: "We go out two by two"

MAE SAI (Thailand) – Two hundred meters of hope. When no one else was waiting for it, a crack appeared. A gap in the cave. This would be exactly above the tunnel where the eleven Thai boys are trapped with their coach.

Speleologists identified it on Thursday afternoon as well as twelve other points considered as possible access to the underground labyrinth of Tham Luang.

The report was given to the boys speaking with the divers: in recent days we have heard noises coming from the outside, they explained, a rooster and some voices. This always reminded rescue teams that there was a pbadage in the mountains unknown to all. It would have been identified: a small gap of two or three hundred meters long, but wide enough to be dug in speed. Before the rains arrive. Before the air in the cavities is even more rarefied: according to the military, we have fallen well below the possible survival rates, from 21 to 15%, and it becomes necessary to pump oxygen inside the cave. But the various drilling attempts failed and the rescuers failed to open a gap to rescue the boys.

To indicate the presence of the tunnel and to reopen a little hope on a Friday that seemed very dark, after the death of the former Thai raider and the first signs of bad weather, to catch a signal: some bats that the rescuers saw flying in the mountains, Thursday night. Almost an arrow for salvation. Now he works without stopping. The city tent around the cave is relaunched, access to the media has been blocked. The moment considered crucial and among the rescuers, more smiling, a voice circulates: there is the possibility of leaving them in a few hours. We are cautious, he warns for the head of operations, Arpakorn Yookongkaew: still hopefully the last to die, but this story teaches that disappointments are always ready to be reborn.

Out of the box right away

This is a race against the clock because we expect Sunday, so from now on we let's go out two by two. That's what a Belgian diver did on the spot. The operation has not yet received the final go-ahead and is looking forward to an announcement from the Minister of the Interior outside the cave. The difficult road, through a labyrinth of corridors, with many dives and climbs. But the current and visibility under the water are good and the boys do not need to swim much: they have an oxygen mask and will almost always be held by the hand of one of the divers . The operation should begin with both boys in stronger physical conditions, then proceed by driving the others, two by two, out of the cave.