Watching on in terror, parents at the scene just pray and wait
FOR the anguished parents of the lost boys, there is nothing to do but wait and pray.
It is now two weeks since their sons walked into the cavern and never came out. Their mothers light incense sticks and pray in front of a statue of Buddha.
But their silent vigil is in stark contrast to the extraordinary scenes developing around them.
For ever since the 12 footballers and their coach were found on Monday deep inside the Tham Luang cave system in northern Thailand, a functioning tented town has sprung up in the jungle around the rescue operation.
Soldiers, police, navy divers, European volunteers, engineers, workmen, government officials and even hairdressers – along with scores of television and newspaper journalists – all squelch through the quagmire.
Field kitchens have been set up with teams of cooks rustling up hot meals for everyone.
Every few hours, teams of exhausted, mud-caked rescuers