Authorities Beg For Mercy Of ‘Rain God’ In Mission

With eight of the 12 boys who were trapped with their soccer coach now freed from the flooded cave complex in northern Thailand, authorities say the time for rescuing the others will depend on the weather.

The mission, which started on Sunday, is a race against the clock with heavy rain expected this week which would again flood the labyrinthine tunnels with fast-flowing, rising water.

A crack team of foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALS guided four boys on Sunday and a further four on Monday through narrow, submerged channels from the muddy bank deep inside the Tham Luang cave where they had been stranded for more than two weeks.

“All four boys have arrived at hospital, all are safe,” Narongsak Osottanakorn, head of the rescue mission, told reporters of those freed. Asked whether the remaining four “Wild Boars” and their coach would come out at the same time in the next rescue effort, he said: “It depends on the plan … We have set the plan for four people so if they want to take five out [at the same time], then they need to change the plan.”

The operation on Monday went more smoothly than on Sunday and took two hours less as the practice became more refined, he said. But he added rescuers may need more than 20 hours, to replan and replenish oxygen supplies, to be ready to mount the next mission. Then it will depend on the weather. Heavy rain has struck the region intermittently over the last three days and further downpours could set back draining efforts at the cave.