Thailand accelerates the rescue of children trapped in the cave



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The Thai government has reported that heavy rains forecast for the next few days could aggravate flooding in the cave where there are 12 minor players and their coach, which would require speeding up the evacuation.

The 13 were found on Monday night in the cave of Chiang Rai Province during an operation that benefited from international assistance. Authorities stated that the health status of miners aged 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old coach was stable and that they had received high-protein liquid foods .

The Minister of the Interior, Anupong Paojinda, said that they might have to go scuba diving, given bad weather forecasts. He added that would be removed by the same tortuous route used by his rescuers.

Anupong said that although operations will continue to pump water, it is obvious that some areas of the great cave can not be drained. To leave, boys may need diving equipment while being guided by professional divers.

"Diving is not easy. For those who have never done it, it will be difficult, unlike diving in a pool, because the cave has small canals, "he said. "If anything happens half way, it could be life threatening."

According to the rescue equipment, the most "safe" way to save could take "months".

The group was found on high ground near the water that floods the passages and about four kilometers inside the cave, where they entered on June 23.

One of the trapped children smiles while they receive provisions carried by sailors. AP / Royal Navy of Thailand

KEYS

Exit Scenarios of Barajas

Quick Exit. Rescuers believe that the immediate evacuation of the 12 miners and their coach is unlikely. First, they must recover their strength, since they have not eaten for days. But his diet should be progressive to avoid nausea, according to specialists. Then they will be trained to travel more than four kilometers of narrow galleries, many of which are flooded, so that they will be equipped with oxygen tanks. An experienced diver needs six hours to cover this distance, warned the rescuers.

Another way. Rescuers found many wells in the vertical of the cave. And in recent days, part of the forest near one of them has been cleared to allow helicopters to land before the possibility of evacuation by air. But, until now, it has not been proven that any of these wells is connected to the part of the cave where the children are. The privileged road continues to be the main entrance, where specialists drain the water. The lower the level, the shorter the distance traveled by the children with the diving equipment will be reduced

Mentality. In addition to physical conditions, the psychological state of the minor footballers and their coach is fundamental to the evacuation: to immerse themselves in the muddy water that they have seen little by little to raise around them is not easy. In addition, as is common in Southeast Asia, especially in rural areas, Thais can not swim. The practice of meditation is very common in Thailand, a Buddhist country, so that he could help children not to panic during the long days of waiting, before their discovery.

Divers Assisted in Mexico

] Rick Stanton, 57, and John Volanthen, 47, the two British divers who found the 12 Thai children and their football coach trapped in a cave in Thailand, a similar rescue in Mexico.

Divers participated in the rescue of six British soldiers trapped in a cave in Mexico in 2004, in the Al Pazat cave in Cuetzalan, Puebla, which remained safe thanks to a rock, a few meters above the water that flooded the tunnels.

Stanton, who helped rescue, said in 2012 that his greatest achievement was saving six soldiers trapped for nine days. "I had to teach some of them to dive to get them out." It took about nine hours. "

Volunteers participated in several international rescues like that of 2010, when they helped an experienced French diver trapped in a cave in southern France.

Stanton is a firefighter from Coventry in the area. Center of England and Volanthen earns a living as a computer engineer in Bristol, in the south-west of this country.

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