Rescuers yesterday struggled to drain a flooded cave in Thailand where 12 children and their soccer coach have been trapped for days, as monks chanted prayers for the boys.
The young soccer team, aged between 11 and 16, have been stuck in the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand since Saturday night after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance.
Hundreds of rescue workers worked overnight to install high-pressure water pumps to reduce flooding in the cave, but it was a losing battle as rains continued to fall in the area near the Laos and Myanmar borders in Chiang Rai Province.
Photo: AP
“Today’s work is much harder, we are trying hard to drain water by pumping out, but the water level is still rising,” Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters.
Conditions in the cave also proved tough for the 200 rescuers dispatched into the tunnels to find the boys.
“The water inside the cave is very murky and there’s not much oxygen,” Narongsak said.
The governor said three foreign cave-diving experts were to arrive yesterday evening to aid the harrowing search that has pressed into its fifth day.
About 1,000 people have been mobilized for the rescue efforts, including air and ground teams, as well as divers. The Thai Army also dispatched special operation troops to aid the rescue.
The Thai Navy SEAL unit said on its Facebook page that water levels rose 15cm overnight and that a third chamber of the complex cave network — believed to be several kilometers long — was now flooded.
Soldiers carried large hoses to attach to eight water pumps that were shipped in to drain rising floodwaters.
Monks in bright orange robes led chants alongside distraught relatives who clung to hope the boys would be rescued soon.
“I hope that today with the help from all teams he will be saved. I’m certain in my heart,” said Pean Kamlue, the mother of a 16-year-old boy in the cave.
The dramatic rescue operations have captivated the nation and prompted emotional outpourings on social media and from top leaders and members of the royal family.
Officials on Tuesday found three new openings, but only one was accessible and they planned to shuttle rescuers and food in through the hole by air, but heavy fog and strong winds grounded five helicopters that were on standby in the area.
The soccer team, the Boars, and their 25-year-old coach are familiar with the area and know the cave well, officials said.
They went into the cave after soccer practice on Saturday and a mother of one of the players alerted authorities when her son did not come home.
Bicycles, shoes and backpacks belonging to the soccer players were found near the cave’s entrance, and divers said they discovered footprints and handprints inside one of the chambers on Monday.
A sign at the site’s entrance warns visitors not to enter the cave during the rainy season from this month to November.
Forecasters yesterday said that light rain would continue to fall, though the downpours were not expected to be as heavy as they were overnight.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he was optimistic the boys would be saved soon.
“I have high hopes that we will find those 13 people because so many days have passed,” he told reporters.
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