Divers prepare to go ahead in cave rescue

MAE SAI, Thailand – Rescue divers spent much of Monday making preparations for what they hope to be a final push in their search for 12 boys and their football coach who went missing Narongsak Osatanakorn, governor of Chiang Rai province, said the divers focused on securing a rope line and placed oxygen tanks on the along the narrow passage that, according to them, will lead them to boys. 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach, who disappeared when the floods trapped them after entering Tham Luang Nang Cave on June 23rd.

SEAL divers from the Thai navy and rescue workers from other countries pass through early Monday after crossing a key chamber on Sunday whose troubled high waters had previously blocked their progress.

Narongsak said the passage that divers made their way across rises up in some places and down in others and is extremely narrow, which complicates the plungers' task with all their gear. .

Divers were often stranded by the rising water that filled sections of the cave and forced them to retreat for safety reasons. When the water level fell on Sunday, divers took a more methodical approach, deploying a line of rope and additional oxygen reserves

The SEAL Facebook page indicates that since Sunday night, divers reached a turn. long one kilometer (half a mile long) splits in two directions. The divers aim for a sandy chamber on higher ground in the cave, where they believe the group would be safe.

On Monday, they again used the methodical approach to safety before crossing the passage

. Narongsak said Monday that setting ropes and deploying oxygen tanks along their route will allow the divers to operate.

Relief forecasts are high since Sunday, but authorities have avoided setting a timetable for search and rescue operations. They remain publicly optimistic.

"In theory, human beings can last 30 days (without food)," Narongsak told reporters. "We hope and believe that is the case.We still have hope."

He said that we expected that in their state, the boys can not move their limbs first, but the medical teams treat them first on the spot. He said the diving teams included doctors who were already inside the cave.

In addition to the divers, the teams worked to pump the water and divert the groundwater. Other efforts have focused on finding mountain-side wells that could serve as a back door to the blocked areas where the missing could be housed.

Teams passed the side of the mountain looking for cracks that could lead to such wells. Several have been found and the explorers have been able to descend into some, but until now it is not clear if they lead to something useful.

Narongsak said that they were concentrating Monday on six wells, up from two the day before. The authorities also used helicopters to place heavy equipment, such as backhoes and drilling machines, on the mountainside. The plan is to try to expand some of these wells.

Cave rescue experts from around the world continued to gather at the site. An official Australian group followed a US military team, British cave experts, Chinese rescue workers and several other volunteer groups from different countries.

"These are difficult conditions and there is a lot of consideration for safety and the environment outside contributes to the indoor environment," said the captain of the army American air, Jessica Tait, who is part of a US military team of 30 people participating in the search operation, in reference to the rain that flooded the cave. "So, I would say, yes, it's an accurate statement that it's difficult. "