Rescue of the Thai cave: boys can be released in stages

The 12 schoolchildren, in baggy football kits, and their trainer was found yesterday after nine days underground for jubilant celebrations, but the rescue operation to guide them in the 2 km system of the cave could take up to four months.

Thai authorities are working with naval SEALs line up in a flooded cave in northern Thailand where young players and their coach are trapped.

Communication technician Phoowanart Keawdum said Wednesday that once the cable is installed, phone calls to the cave will be possible.

the same Tuesday, but the equipment was damaged by water.

In the latest videos released by the Thai Navy, the boys and the coach say that they are fine. The group entered the cave in northern Thailand on June 23 before the floods cut off the main entrance.

The last two videos posted on the Navy Facebook page Wednesday morning show a naval SEAL dealing with minor cuts to the feet and legs.

Several boys are seen smiling while they interact with the SEAL Navy, who makes jokes.

Other boys are seen sleeping under heated aluminum blankets.

The Thai official overseeing the rescue operation of a football team trapped in a flooded cave said the boys were wearing diving masks and breathing.

Officials said that teaching the 12 boys and their coach to dive may be the only way to get them out of the cave, but other options are explored.

Provincial Governor of Chiang Rai Narongsak Osatanakorn said Wednesday, while the team is practicing the masks, he does not believe he attempted dives in practice.

He said that it was unclear when an extraction might be attempted, but it is unlikely that it will be Wednesday

The Minister of the Interior, Anupong Paojinda, said that the Child evacuation "must accelerate" as soon as possible before other rains come to exacerbate the floods.

could force authorities to take children – who can not swim – through a narrow underwater passage in the cave.

"If something happens halfway it could be life threatening." Paojinda said: "Diving is not easy, for people who have never done it, it will be difficult, unlike diving in a pool, because the characteristics of the cave have small channels . "

on the table if it does not work.

The authorities are planning to take the boys out of the cave, but if that does not work, it could cause the cave where the team has taken refuge.

Rescuers could also drain the caves enough to allow boys to wade or float with lifejackets.

The last option is to leave them there for three or four months until the rains disappear.

The group of 13, who disappeared The floods trapped them in the cave that they were exploring on June 23 after a football match, were found by divers late Monday night

L & # 39; Desperate search effort attracted international aid and competed with Thailand

. team of six divers from the Australian Fed The police faced "incredibly difficult" conditions.

Rescuers requested 15 small and large full face masks, suggesting that divers were preparing a rescue mission through the flooded 750-meter stretch of Tham Luang Nang Cave. 19659002] The media said that it was too dangerous to use a conventional breathing apparatus because it could easily be knocked out during the dive.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were described as being in good health. be treated by seven members of the Thai Seals, including the doctors, who stayed with them inside the cave. They were mostly in a stable state and received high-protein drinks.

It was revealed that the boys visited the cave to attempt a local initiation rite in which they had to scribble their names on a wall at the end of the tunnel.

Although efforts to pump flood waters continue, it is clear that some areas of the sprawling cavern can not be drained, said Paojinda, a member of the ruling military junta in Thailand [19659035]. According to Anupong, the boys would have to go out in the same complicated way that borrowed their rescuers, and he conceded that if anything went

Yesterday, a video published by the Thai Navy showed the boys in uniform of Soccer sitting in a dry place inside Tham Luang Nang cave No above the water while a light was lit by a lifeguard. on their faces.

Cave rescue experts have said that it could be safer to simply provide them where they are for now, rather than trying to get the boys to dive. This could take months, however, as the Thai rainy season will generally last until October.

Rear Admiral Arpakorn Yookongkaew, Commander of the Seal, said that there was no rush to get them out because they are safe

"

" We have given food to boys, starting with easy-to-digest and high-potency foods, with enough minerals, "said Arpakorn at a press conference

. "If we use this plan, we need to be sure that it will work and that we must have an exercise to make sure it is 100% safe," he said.

Governor of Chiang Rai Province, Narongsak Osatanakorn, said the health of boys and coach was monitored using a field assessment in which red is a critical condition, the yellow is serious and the green is stable. , "he said, maybe some of the boys have minor wounds or injuries and would be classified as a yellow condition, but no one is in a red state."

Relatives keeping vigilance at the entrance to the cave began to rejoice. The boys and their coach had been found.

"I want to give him a hug, I miss him a lot," said Tham Chanthawong, an aunt of the coach. "During those 10 days, how many million seconds was there?"

Rescuers spent a good part of Monday preparing to spot them, efforts that had been hampered by floods Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, two British cavers, found the group at about 300-400m after crossing part of the cave on higher ground

In the five-minute naval video, the boys wore their soccer uniforms and were calm, curious and polite.

They were also eager to get food. After an initial exchange in which a rescuer determined that all 13 are present, one of the boys asked what day he was, and a rescuer replied: "Monday, Monday, you have been here – 10 days."

they "you are very strong". The traditional reserve of Thai children towards adults broke out slightly after a while, and one boy said to another in Thai: "Tell them we are hungry."

"We did not eat », Says a boy in Thai and then in English:" We must eat, eat, eat! " A rescuer assured them that "the seals of the navy will come tomorrow, with food and doctors and everything". At the end of the video, a boy asked in English "Where do you come from?"

The rescue diver replied, "England, UK". In addition to the protein drink, Narongsak said they had been given painkillers and antibiotics, which doctors had advised as a precaution.

He said the officials had met and agreed on the need to ensure 100% safety of the boys. "

" We have worked so hard to find them and we will not lose them, "he said.

Ben Reymenants, a member of the US-based assistance team. rescue effort, told NBC Today show that he was "very surprised to find that they are all alive and mentally healthy."

Although they seemed reactive, "they are very weak and very lean." Reymenants said the easiest option would be to "continue pumping water from the cave," he said. they need 3 or 4 feet more to float with life vests. "

" But time is not on their side, "he noted, due to the strong forecast of He added that two Thai Navy doctors have volunteered to stay with them for months, if necessary.

The British Cave Rescue Council, whose members s participate in the operation, said that "diving conditions remain difficult and any attempt to dive boys and their coach will not be taken lightly as there are technical challenges and significant risks to consider . "

Other experts from around the world and teams from the United States, Australia, China and elsewhere