FLICKER OF HOPE IN SEARCH FOR THAI KIDS
Concerns rise about victims’ chances of survival as search hits seventh day
RESCUE divers reached several kilometres inside a flooded cave yesterday, where 12 boys and their football coach have been trapped for a week, offering a flicker of hope for the harrowing search.
There has been no contact with the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach since they went into the Tham Luang cave last weekend and were hemmed in by heavy rains that blocked the entrance.
The desperate, round-theclock search for the team has been beset by torrential downpours that submerged tunnels near the entrance, blocking divers from going on.
But Thai Navy Seal divers nearly reached a T-junction in the depths of the cave just 2km or 3km from where the boys were believed to be, said Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn.
Divers reached the same spot earlier, but were forced back by rushing floodwaters.
Water levels inside the complex labyrinth of tunnels finally dropped thanks to dozens of pumps set up to drain the pools even as heavy rain continued to pound the area near the Myanmar and Laos borders.
As the search for the boys hit its seventh day, attention turned to their chances of survival with little or no food and light.
The group likely has access to fresh water — either dripping in through rocks or rushing in through the entrance — but experts warned that runoff water from nearby farms could carry dangerous chemicals or bacteria.
“If they drink the water in the caves and it makes them sick it could hasten the problem that they are in, but if they don’t drink it then they are also in trouble,” said Anmar Mirza, coordinator of the United States National Cave Rescue Commission.
But even without food, he said young, athletic boys could “easily live for a month or a month and a half ” but the main challenge would be mental resolve.
Earlier in the day, medics and police staged practice drills to prepare for the quick and complex evacuations that will be required if and when the boys are found.