US, UK TEAMS JOIN SEARCH FOR BOYS MISSING IN THAILAND CAVE

A US military team and British cave experts joined the search in northern Thailand for 12 boys and their soccer coach missing for five days inside a cave being flooded by near-constant rains.

A Thai army general coordinating the rescue said Thursday morning that overnight rain had raised water levels again and authorities switched off power and water pumps for fear of electrical hazards.

Major General Bancha Duriyapat said Thai navy SEALs, UK cave-diving experts and a US military team were inside the cave and rescuers were continuing to work despite the rain and setbacks.

The missing boys and coach entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on Saturday.

The complex extends several kilometers with narrow passageways and uneven ground and is known to severely flood in rainy season. Still, authorities have expressed hope there are dry places on higher ground where the group may be able to wait. Deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta said, “We won’t give up.”

Anmar Mirza, national coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission in the US, said the boys’ youth and health is to their advantage and if the cave is not too cold, they should be able to survive four to five days with no water and a month or more with water but no food.

“The biggest concern is them getting desperate and trying to enter swift moving water,” he said.