Light at end of the tunnel for last Thai boys
Young footballers recover in hospital but the race is on for divers to save those still trapped underground
The last four Thai boys trapped in a cave will be rescued today, according to the official in charge of the operation. However, the official raised the possibility that the boys’ football coach may remain underground another day, saying four was the safest number to rescue in one session.
THE official in charge of the rescue of 12 young boys and their football coach from a deep cave in Thailand said another attempt today would be “100 per cent successful” after four more young people were freed yesterday.
A third rescue attempt takes place this afternoon, said Narongsak Osottanakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai province and head of the joint command centre coordinating the mission.
But he did not confirm whether the five people remaining for another night 2.5 miles inside the labyrinthine underground network would be freed in one go. The group is believed to include Ekapol Chanthawong, 25, the boys’ football coach.
“For safety, the best number is four,” he said, raising the possibility that one or more of the party could remain a further 24 hours.
The operation is still fraught with danger despite some improved weather conditions.
Yesterday’s operation, which took the tally of those rescued to eight, was two hours faster than Sunday’s efforts. All were said to be in good condition in hospital and asking for Pad Krapow, a Thai dish of basil leaves, meat and rice.
“The team is getting used to the operation and in the cave we have more than 100 staff on guide ropes, filling [air] tanks and 18 divers to get the children,” he said.
The first boy rescued yesterday was taken by ambulance to a field hospital around 4.30pm for assessment before a helicopter transferred him to medical teams in the nearby town of Chiang Rai.
He was followed in quick succession by three more between 6pm and 8pm. They joined those who were rescued on Sunday and all were place in isolated medical care while doctors tested them for any potentially lethal infections that they might have picked up during their ordeal in the damp cave.
The rescue of the eighth was confirmed mid-evening on the Thai Navy Seals Facebook page. None of the boys has been identified as the authorities maintained sensitivities for the families of those still in danger. As last night’s rescue mission came to an end, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s prime minister, visited the cave entrance to offer his support for the rescue teams.
Yesterday’s mission had begun at 11am local time (5am in Britain) when an international diving team, including some British experts, entered the cave complex for the second rescue operation after water levels stabilised despite heavy overnight rainfall.
More than 90 divers were said to be have been involved in the operation overall. Working directly to guide the boys out were 13 expert foreign divers and five Thai Navy Seals.
The boys were being brought out one by one, each accompanied by two divers as they traversed a mile of submerged, jagged passageways. In one particularly narrow bend, only one person could squeeze through at a time.
The death on Friday of Saman Kunan, a former Thai Navy Seal, when he ran out of air while replenishing air tanks en route, starkly highlighted how dangerous the extraction by diving could be.
Since then the rescue teams have been taking no unnecessary risks. Their mission was temporarily paused after Sunday’s initial success, to replace air tanks and to check the underwater guide ropes.
The equipment remained in good condition, but some divers had been substituted to avoid exhaustion, and yet more had been preparing for today’s rescue, said the governor.
Conditions at the cave have so far remained favourable for the rescue efforts.
A senior forestry official at the scene said that efforts to drain the cave usuing water pumps and irrigation channels had paid off.
“The water levels are stable,” he said.