Thai rescuers face race against rain
Forecast of heavy weather increases urgency of getting 12 boys and their football coach out of cave
Thai rescuers on Thursday said they may have to carry out a complex extraction of 12 young footballers and their coach from a flooded cave if rains that are forecast jeopardise the rescue mission.
Thirteen sets of diving equipment have been prepared for the team, who have endured 12 nights underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in north Thailand.
Water is being pumped out from the cave around the clock, reducing the flooding by one centimetre an hour.
But with rain forecast to begin on Friday, the Chiang Rai provincial governor heading the rescue effort conceded the mission was now “a race against the water”.
“Our biggest concern is the weather. We are calculating how much time we have if it rains, how many hours and days,” Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
In a sign of increased urgency, Mr Narongsak said medics and Thai Navy Seal divers were assessing whether the boys are fit and well enough to be taken out early.
Diving out is fraught with risk for the boys.
It takes cave-diving experts about six hours to reach the muddy ledge where the boys are sheltering about four kilometres into the cave. Many of the youngsters – who are aged between 11 and16 – are unable to swim and none have diving experience.
Three days after contact was made with the group, Thai Navy Seal experts continued to teach them the basics of diving.
But the areas where diving will be necessary are narrow and may require the boys to swim through murky waters unaccompanied.
In a two-pronged strategy, rescuers are also hunting for a chimney down to the boys, creating a second option for escape in the event heavy rains force their hand.
They have enlisted the help of bird’s nest collectors from southern Thailand who are expert at finding hidden holes on forested cliffsides.
Authorities still hope they can manage any new deluge, with high-powered pumps having already drained 128 million litres of water from the cave.
Water has been cleared from the entrance to a rescue base camp in “chamber three” inside the cave, but onward sections closer to the boys are impassable without diving, according to Khao Khieupakdi, a Bangkok disaster prevention official.
Officials have considered the possibility that the boys may have to remain in the cave until the monsoon season passes in three or four months.
That option is a last resort and may be revised if flooding worsens.
Concerns for the mental and physical health of the boys are also mounting after a prolonged ordeal in the dark, claustrophobic cave complex.
Experts say the risk of psychological damage is high for youngsters trapped in traumatic conditions, while the lack of light may cause confusion.
Several Thai Navy divers and medics are staying with the boys, and video footage showed the group in good spirits.