Rain thwarts rescue of kids trapped in Thai cave
RESCUERS struggled to drain a flooded cave in Thailand yesterday, where 12 children and their football coach have been trapped for days, as monks chanted prayers for the boys.
The young football 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 northern Chiang Rai province.
“Today’s work is much harder, we are trying hard to [pump out] water but the level is still rising,” said provincial governor Narongsak Osottanakorn. 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.
He said three foreign cave-diving experts would arrive yesterday evening to aid the harrowing search that pressed into its fifth day yesterday.
About 1 000 people had been mobilised for the rescue efforts, including army troops, air and ground teams and divers.
Three new openings were found on Tuesday, but only one was accessible. It is planned to shuttle rescuers and food in through the hole by air.
The youngsters and their 25-yearold coach went into the cave after football practise on Saturday. — AFP