Rescuers reflect on how to extract the boys from the flooded Thai cave



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CHIANG RAI, Thailand (Reuters) – Thai rescuers did not get close on Thursday to decide when and how to extract 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave complex, where they were found this week , pale and weak but otherwise the dramatic operation of search and rescue of the junior football team, which had disappeared in the cave of Chiang Rai province in the north of the country on June 23, seemed to be over A team of British and Thai divers found the boys on Monday at the end of the day, grouped together on a small muddy bank in a flooded room.

But attention has now focused on how to get the group out of several kilometers of dangerously flooded tunnels. The navy raised the possibility that the 13 could be in Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai Province until the waters receded at the end of the rainy season in four months.

But others say that boys could be a matter of days if t The time is on their side and the water can be pumped out of the cave complex, and if they are taught to use diving equipment.

Kobchai Boonarana, deputy director general of the department of disaster prevention and mitigation, told the rescue team in the cave to decide if and when the boys would be strong enough to attack the trip.

"Their conditions, we can see that their morale is good but what about their strength and their ability?" Our job is to keep pumping water and it belongs to the Team inside to assess the level of security and whether children can travel safely, Kobchai told reporters Thursday. "He said.

Some parents of boys gathered near the cave on Thursday morning, where a few rescuers walked up to his entrance, a contrast with the days of rampant activity during a search that drew the attention. attention of the media worldwide.

A mother said that she still had not been able to contact her boy

"We can not yet send them messages," said Ratdao Chantrapul, 37, the mother of Prajak Sutham, 14 years old. "Yesterday, they tried to take mobile phones but the bag was broken," she said.

Rescuers had to deal with days of heavy rain that flooded the cave complex early in the search. been relatively dry in the last four days.

Rescuers sent food, water and medical supplies. The meteorological department warned Thursday that up to 60 percent of the country's north, including Chiang Rai, can expect staff to enter the tunnels. heavy rain from July 7th to July 12th.

Lost Boys in the Cave of Thailand: https://tmsnrt.rs/2MJnaY2

(Additional Report by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in CHIANG RAI, Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat in BANGKOK, Written by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Edited by Robert Birsel)

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