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Four of the 12 boys were extracted from the Tham Luang Cave Network in Chiang Rai Province Sunday night, before the operation was suspended overnight to allow the oxygen tanks to be removed. 39, be recharged before the next phase.
The four boys, who were taken to a Chiang Rai hospital for further medical examination, would be in good health, their condition being described by the authorities as "not so bad".
But rescue teams do not have a lot of time. The rain began to fall on Sunday, and more rains are expected over the next few days, which could negate ongoing efforts to drain the flooded caves where the other boys remain trapped.
"We have two obstacles: water and time," Governor Chiang Rai's Narongsak Osotthanakorn said Sunday as rain began to fall on the site near the entrance to the site. cave.
"This is what we have been facing since the first day," he said. "We must do everything we can, even if it is difficult to fight the force of nature."
"A very gentle operation"
Sunday's mission went faster than in the exercises of recent days, according to Osotthanakorn.
Previously, the entire round trip in the cave system was to last about 11 hours. But the first of four boys emerged from the entrance to the cave about nine hours after a team of 18 international cave diving experts came to pick them up.
Boys wore "face masks and rescue divers wore them through the passageway into the cave complex," Osotthanakorn said at a press conference after the rescue.
"It was a very sweet operation today," he added.
While the governor did not want to confirm the identity of the four boys, he said the first one emerged at 5:40 pm, followed by the second boy 10 minutes later. Two other boys emerged from the cave at 19:40. and 12:50 pm
Twelve boys – aged 11 to 16 – and their coach were discovered by two British divers on July 2nd, nine days after giving up their bicycles and disappeared in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex.
Pressure rises as rain dominates forecasts
This is the rain that blocked the boys and their coach in the cave, after they ventured into the network of caves last month.
"The strongest rain is yet to come," Allison Chinchar said.
Rescue teams were helped by the fact that the rain stopped for several days, said Chinchar, allowing the water to be pumped out of the cave and allowing the four boys and specialized rescue teams to make the final step. Travel on foot.
But that could change in the coming days, added Chinchar. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each have a probability of 80 to 90% of rain.
"And really when you look at the long-term forecasts, it really is going to be the next seven to 10 days," she said. Osotthanakorn told reporters that there would be a meeting on Sunday night to plan the next steps, and that the authorities want to make sure that the conditions are stable before starting the next phase of the rescue
A Trip dangerous
For boys – some of whom do not know how to swim – the most dangerous part of the trip out of the maze system of caves remains the first kilometer, in which they are required to cross a flooded canal no wider than that. a person.
During this process, lifeguards must hold the boys' oxygen tanks in front of them and swim in submerged holes. After completing this section, the boys are then handed over to specialized rescue teams, who help them to cross the rest of the cave, which they can spend most of.
Initially, officials said that the strongest boys would be taken out of the cave first.
But Osottanakorn said Sunday that it would be up to the boys and a doctor inside the cave to determine with them the order in which they would come out. This decision would also depend on a medical examination by the doctor.
"I do not know who will come out first," added the governor.
Divers have already described the conditions in the cave system as some of the most extreme to have ever encountered.
The decision to move the boys using divers was not taken lightly. On Friday, a former Thai Navy member died while returning from a delivery operation of oxygen bottles to the cave.
"Certainly, you can feel that this has an effect, but we are going ahead, put it aside and prevent it from happening again," he said, adding: "All the world is focused on getting out of these boys – keeping them alive or getting them out. "
Families Stay Alert and Hopeful
Rescue, a letter the boys had sent to their children The letter shows boys in a good mood despite their ordeal
In a neat blue script, Chanin Viboonrungruang, 11, the youngest in the group, told her parents not to worry, and said that he was anxious to eat fried chicken
His parents, as well as other families, have maintained a constant vigil on the site since the boys were trapped.
Reading the letter Saturday evening, Chanin's father, Tanawut Viboonrungruan g, said that he felt the relief. "I was worried about my son, that he would be exhausted, he would be tired," he said.
The aunt and grandmother of one of the boys, Prajak Sutham, said earlier in the day was going through Facebook, and was anxiously waiting for news that Prajak had brought it out in all security.
"It's like I'm counting every second," said Salisa Promjak, aunt. "I want to see his face, I want to see how he goes out, how they pull him out … I'm so happy."
Asked what she would say when she saw her grandson, Kiawakham Chantaphoon, said, "Grandma loves you the most in the whole world."
They also wanted to express their gratitude to the rescue teams working to free Prajak and his teammates.
"As a cousin and as representative of the 13 families, I can not find words to explain our feelings and how happy and grateful we are," Promjak said. "Just the words" thank you "are not enough to explain all the feelings we have for them."
Saved boys begin the recovery process
One of the main concerns will be the boys' exposure to a lack of oxygen, said Dr. Darria Long Gillespie of the University of Tennessee. "As soon as they come out, that's what they'll check: their oxygen levels and their breathing." Thai authorities said Friday that oxygen levels inside the cave were dropping to 15 percent of the US Department of Labor 's "optimal range" of oxygen, or between 19 , 5% and 23.5%.
As oxygen falls below the lower threshold of the optimal level, the body begins to undergo changes and can face the serious risk of hypoxia, the condition that causes altitude sickness. , according to OSHA.
for malnutrition, dehydration and a variety of other health effects.
