Situation remains grim, edgy in Thailand cave
MAE SAI, THAILAND — The rescuers trying to help a youth soccer team stranded in a Thai cave suffered a disheartening loss Friday with the death of a former SEAL diving in the flooded passageways to deliver supplies, as authorities raced against worsening weather and lessening oxygen where the 12 boys and their coach have been trapped for two weeks.
“We can no longer wait for all conditions (to be ready) because circumstances are pressuring us,” Thai SEAL commander Rear Adm. Arpakorn Yookongkaew told a news conference. “We originally thought the boys can stay safe inside the cave for quite some time, but circumstances have changed. We have limited amount of time.”
Oxygen levels are decreasing because of the amount of workers inside the cave and workers were trying to run an oxygen line into the chambers in addition to the oxygen canisters used by divers, Chiang Rai province Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn had said.
mae sai (Thailand) — A former Thai navy diver helping to rescue a football team trapped inside a flooded cave died on Friday as officials warned the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is “limited”.
The diver’s death raises serious doubts over the safety of attempting to bring the 12 boys and their football coach out through the cramped, waterlogged passageways of the Tham Luang cave.
But Thailand’s Navy SEAL commander indicated that rescuers may have little choice but to attempt the tricky extraction of the group, in the first official admission that they cannot wait out the monsoon underground.
“At first, we thought the children could stay for a long time... but now things have changed, we have a limited time,” Apakorn Yookongkaew told reporters.
A sombre mood has clouded the elation from earlier in the week, when the boys were found dishevelled and hungry but alive on a ledge several kilometres inside the cave.
Many of the boys — aged between 11 to 16 — are unable to swim and none has scuba experience, further imperilling any attempt to dive out of the cave.
Those risks were made all the more immediate by the death of the diver, identified as Saman Kunan, who passed out and perished while returning from the chamber where the boys are trapped. He was part of a team trying to establish an air line to the chamber where the children are awaiting rescue.
The Seal commander said oxygen levels in their shelter had dropped, but said a doctor was with the team monitoring their health.
Chiang Rai deputy governor Passakorn Boonyaluck delivered the “sad news” of the diver’s death to reporters massed at the entrance to the cave complex.
But Navy Seal commander Apakorn vowed the rescue bid will continue. “We lost one man, but we still have faith to carry out our work.”
Saman resigned from the Thai military in 2006 before working at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, according to a post on the Thai Navy Seals Facebook page, which said he was a triathlete and a “skilled and able diver.”
Tributes poured out across social
At first, we thought the children could stay for a long time... but now things have changed, we have a limited time. Apakorn Yookongkaew, Navy SEAL commander
media in Thailand. Asked how the boys could make it out safely if an experienced diver could not, Apakorn said they would take more precautions with the children. Even for expert divers the journey is an exhausting 11-hour round trip.
The muddy bank where the boys are stranded is some 4 km from the front entrance of the cave, with sections of the final 1.7-km stretch
I sincerely hope that they will be able to join us at the final, which will undoubtedly be a wonderful moment. Gianni Infantino, Fifa president
completely underwater. Drilling down raises concerns that parts of the cave could collapse on the boys. Efforts to widen diving channels, have raised similar fears about blocking narrow passageways and hemming the team in.
The diver’s death marks the first major setback for the gargantuan effort, which started almost two weeks ago after the “Wild Boars” team went into the cave in northern Thailand following football practice. Their ordeal has gripped Thailand, with the nation holding its breath for their safe escape.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that engineers from his firms — SpaceX and The Boring Company — were heading to Thailand to see if they could assist the rescue. — AFP, Reuters
It is great to see this (international) cooperation. If we will cooperate globally almost all of our problems would be solved.
Nick Vollmar, a German paramedic & firefighter