BRACED FOR THE RESCUE
RACE AGAINST TIME TO SAVE CAVE BOYS Bid to get team out may start today
An attempt to rescue the Thai football team trapped for 16 days in a flooded cave complex could begin today.
Officials have warned they face a race against time as they try to save the 12 boys and their coach.
Monsoon rainfall forecast for yesterday came to nothing near Tham Luang cave, buying the rescue effort vital extra time.
But oxygen levels inside the cave are continuing to fall, meaning an attempt to bring out the boys might have to be made within the next few days.
Yesterday, messages from the trapped Wild Boars team were delivered to their families.
Despite their ongoing ordeal, the boys – aged 11 to 16 – told their parents: “Don’t worry.”
The group have been trapped since June 23, when flash flooding hit the cave while they were exploring its narrow, twisting tunnels. It took divers 10 days to reach them.
The rescue mission’s chief, Narongsak Osottanakorn, told reporters yesterday: “The current situation, with the air and water levels and the boys’ health, is the best yet. We’re still at war with water and time.
“The discovery was just a small victory but that doesn’t mean the war is over until we have won all three battles – discovery, rescue and return home.”
Oxygen levels in the cave chambers have dropped to 15 per cent from the usual 21 per cent.
About 1000 people are involved in the rescue operation, including navy divers, soldiers, civilians and international experts.
Two Roya l Tha i Army soldiers said they had been told by superiors that the rescue operation would likely begin today or tomorrow.
The 2.5-mile route out of the cave is fraught with danger. It claimed the life of ex-Thai navy seal Saman Kunan on Friday.
Osottanakorn, governor of the Chiang Rai region in northern Thailand, said the boys are now strong enough to walk.
But many of the youngsters can’t swim and they are having to be taught how to scuba dive.
Other options to rescue the boys are being explored, including a makeshift tunnel to allow them to crawl out.
Bangkok architect Sthapanik Toong-Tong said: “It would be a giant canvas, laminated tube that would be inserted into the cave and inflated with air.”
Rescuers are also drilling holes into the mountain in the hope of finding a shaft leading to the cave.
In their letters to their families, the stranded boys kept their hopes up. One lad wrote: “If I can get out, Mum and Dad, please bring me mookatha (Thai barbecue) to eat.”
Another boy wrote: “Don’t worry, we are al l strong. Teacher, don’t give us lots of homework!”
Coach Ekkapol Chantawong, 25, apologised in a heartfelt note.
He wrote: “I promise I will take care of the kids as best as I can… I also sincerely apologise to the kids’ parents.”