Thailand Cave Rescue: Why the youth football team is still trapped



[ad_1]

About a thousand Thai soldiers and civilians were joined by technical experts from half a dozen countries in a desperate effort to rescue 12 young boys and their soccer coach trapped in a northern cave. Thailand for more than a week. 19659002] The boys, all members of the Wild Boars football team aged 11 to 16, and their assistant, Ekkapol Chantawong, 25, entered the Tham Luang cave after the practice of 23 June. meant to be about a five-hour trek. The monsoon rains flooded several rooms and blocked the exit.

Rescuers tried to pump water so that divers and doctors could reach them, but the days that followed only brought more showers. Authorities then began looking for alternative inputs on the mountain above, but found few viable options. More than a week later, time is running out.

The search for missing boys and their coach seized the nation. The benefactors hold vigils in the schools and temples of the country. Social media users have created hashtags to draw attention to the story. Residents of predominantly rural Chiang Rai province volunteered to cook, clean and support the families of the boys and rescue teams in a mud camp near the entrance to the troglodyte complex.

try everything they can to make contact. Here is why it takes so long to find the missing team, and what follows in the extraordinary effort to save them.

  Local women attend a Buddhist prayer for missing children in a school near Tham Luang Cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai District of Chiang Rai Province on July 1, 2018. [19659006] Local women attend a Buddhist prayer for missing children at a school near Tham Luang Cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non-Forest Park in Mae Sai District. A Complex System </strong></h2>
<p>  The Tham Luang Cave System is a sprawling complex located under Nang No Mountain, marking the border between Thailand and Myanmar on the border between Thailand and Burma. the North. Stretching about three miles flying from the bird, a system of narrow corridors winds sharply, connecting larger limestone chambers dripping with stalactites. </p>
<p>  Several small pieces are located along the 1.8-mile stretch from the mouth of the cave to a T-intersection. On the right, a tunnel leads to the north. To the left, the main attraction: a vast amphitheater-shaped room called Pattaya Beach, named after the popular tourist destination just south of Bangkok, the Thai capital. </p>
<p>  The trek to Pattaya is not particularly difficult, but it can take a few hours in dry conditions through narrow tunnels. Authorities hope that the missing team has reached the spacious cavern where the soil is high and likely to be above the water. Small openings are expected to provide enough oxygen, while the sources provide fresh water. </p>
<p>  In addition to a few cases scattered in the first chambers of the cave, there is no direct sign of the boys and their trainer. But rescuers think that snuggling on the Pattaya plateau would be their best chance of survival, perhaps only. Divers have not yet managed to reach the room because of the extremely difficult conditions, while climbers have not yet found chimneys leading from the surface. Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said on Sunday that a conventional exit through the entrance to the cave was the most likely scenario. </p>
<p>  The SEALs of the Thai Navy established a command center in "room three", an elevated room. about a mile from the entrance and a little less than a mile from the junction, according to the maps provided by the Thai authorities. The station has been equipped with lighting, medical equipment, a communication system and supplies such as food and oxygen, which are deposited at 25-meter intervals in the flooded tunnels </p>
<p>  After leaving the command, pass the intersection and arrive within one mile of the target </p>
<h2><strong>  'Bad Luck' </strong></h2>
<p>  The Thai authorities reacted quickly to the crisis, but the conditions were not favorable. SEALs arrived late on the night of June 24 and plunged into the dark waters around 2 am. They continued to dive by running three teams of six over the next 16 hours. 19659002] Rising levels of water forced them to suspend exploration several times. Submersible pumps were brought on the scene to empty the flooded tunnels, but new rains replaced them again. "We had bad luck," Narongsak, the governor, said Friday at TIME. "The water arrived faster than we could control it." </p>
<p>  On Wednesday, the Thai authorities asked for help. Three British diving experts rushed to the scene, as did a cave expert with extensive knowledge of Tham Luang. The US Indo-Pacific Command sent a survival specialist and a pararescuemen team – an elite special operations unit trained for search, rescue and medical response in almost any area. what environment. Military personnel from Australia arrived later in the week. China, Japan and Israel also sent specialists, considered private sector civilians. </p>
<p>  When they arrived on Thursday, US forces were hit by torrential rains. Captain Jessica Tait, US Air Force Public Affairs Officer, said the Thai authorities were battling extremely adverse circumstances that have steadily worsened. "It's a unique problem that brings people together," she said. "All of Thailand is here, bringing their hearts and passions to this, everyone is doing their best, given the situation." </p>
<h2><strong>  Helicopters and drones hovered above their heads to search for Signs of heat and other signs of life, while police and soldiers searched the jungle provide an alternative entry point.Two of them seemed viable, according to Narongsak, and a allowed access to a small room located 40 meters below.It still does not know when it connects to Pattaya; rescuers hope at least to contact the missing team to provide medical care of Emergency and food until water recession. </p>
<p>  Industrial drills complement efforts to drain water, but progress is slow, reporters work day and night in a race against expected rains this week. </p>
<div class=

  Soldiers and Thai police gather in the mountains near Tham Luang Cave in the Khun Nam Nang Non-Forest Park in Chiang Rai Province on June 30, 2018 while the rescue operation continues for the children of A football team and their trainer.

Thai police and soldiers gather in the mountains near Tham Luang cave in the Khun Nam Nang Non-Forest Park in Chiang Rai Province on June 30, 2018 the rescue operation continues for the children of a football team and their trainer

Lillian Suwanrumph-AFP / Getty Images

At the Loan

Thirteen ambulances are there to transport the survivors to the Chiang Rai Hospital area, where a whole floor was allowed to receive them. "We have been preparing since the beginning," said Deputy Director Samroeng Seekaew, addressing TIME on Monday. Doctors, nurses and mental health specialists are available to treat trauma, organ failure and infectious diseases in case someone is found alive. "If we find them, we want their families to know that we are ready to take care of them," Samroeng said.

Paramedics, soldiers and volunteers successfully completed an evacuation exercise on Saturday; If it is found alive, the biggest obstacle to their survival will be to transport them from Pattaya through tunnels still flooded to the SEAL command center, and then to the cave entrance – a difficult journey of several kilometers guided by rope and determination. Despite the difficulties, the stakeholders remain committed to the mission and say that they will not give up their efforts until the 13 missing persons have been found.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Narongsak, the governor, said relief teams will continue but encouraging progress. "I hope it will be another good day today," he said. [ad_2]
Source link