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This evacuation is full of pitfalls, including a very narrow passage, which is the obsession of divers. In a press conference, the head of the Crisis Unit, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said that the rescue teams could not be more ready than today.
It includes 13 foreign divers who have a "expertise in speology And 5 Thai divers
This is a very narrow area called "T-junction", or "T-intersection" (in Thai, it says "sam yak"). At this point, the passage is no more than a gut, in which one must sneak in.
"The passage, very narrow, goes up and down" and requires to contort, had explained on July 2 Narongsak Osottanakorn, the head of the crisis cell.
This area is located 1.7 kilometers from where the children were discovered. Once this event is completed, the children will be less than one kilometer from the 3rd room, where the first aid workers have set up their base camp.
From there, they will still have to travel nearly two kilometers, but the danger will be behind them
They have more than four kilometers to go, including flooded and narrow portions.
The rescue cell did not specify Sunday how much the water level could be lowered, especially in the famous "T-junction."
The exact level of water is the big unknown. The cave was flooded several meters high in places, but "the water level in the cave continued to drop" to an acceptable level, said only Sunday Kobchai Boonorana, the Ministry of the Interior.
Rescuers have pushed the moment of evacuation as much as possible, time to pump water, to have a minimum of underwater portions to go underwater.
An operation that will last three to four days
Until now, it took eleven hours for a seasoned diver to make the round trip to the children: six one hour, five hours back with the current
The authorities announced the departure of the divers to bring them back to 10 am local (23 pm EDT). The first victim's exit is scheduled "around 9 pm" (10 am EDT), 11 hours later.
Dive into this cloudy water "like coffee with milk," as one diver, is a serious challenge, which professionals have not overcome.
"There is zero visibility, the space is confined", testifies Matt Fitzerald, diver of the Australian Federal Police interviewed by AFP this week. He managed to dive part of the way, but could not go all the way in.
With this murky water, it was impossible to consult his watch and other equipment to monitor his dive time.
divers installed a rope along the wall to allow them to guide themselves.
Many of the children, aged 11 to 16, can not swim, and none have ever been diving.
Each of them will be escorted by two divers, "tried to reassure the head of the crisis cell.
Doctors who have been waiting for days with them have found them fit to try the exit, but they may be weakened by their two weeks in the cave, a first without food or contact with the outside
In addition to physical fitness, children's psychological preparation is crucial.
"They have been informed of the operation and are ready to be evacuated and face all challenges" , said Sunday the head of the cell, Narongsak Osottanakorn.
The children were able to receive letters from their parents this week, via the divers, telling them their confidence in their ability to do so.
But plunge back into the murky water that forced them to flee further and further into the cave, until they were pinned on a rock, is not easy.
And children are more likely to panic, even so far the group has seemed rather mentally resilient, calmly launching "thank you" to the British divers who discovered them.
"One individual panic, in case of trouble with the diving breathing system or anything else, and it will have a big impact on all the others," warns. Andrew Watson, British specialist in first aid, interviewed in England by AFP
The rescuers said Sunday they would come out "one by one", to avoid such a collective panic. They warned that the last ones could only come out in two or three days, a wait that is difficult to manage psychologically for the children.
Site evacuated
Sunday morning, before holding a press conference, the authorities evacuated the Cave site Tham Luan, Thailand, to help "the victims."
"All those not involved in the operation must leave the area immediately," police said. This call was intended for hundreds of journalists on the spot, among others.
"We must use the area to help the victims," the authorities added.
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