Thai officials still believe 12 boys missing in cave can be rescued
● The hunt goes on for the teenagers and their football coach
Anguished parents of 12 members of a boys’ football team missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand were spending a third night without their children yesterday as water continued to rise in the sprawling caverns, forcing rescuers led by elite navy divers to suspend their search
Officials said pouring rain caused parts of the cave to flood with at least 16 feet of water but that they believe the boys are still alive.
The boys, aged 11-15, are believed to have entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province with their 25-year-old coach late on Saturday afternoon. A mother reported that her son did not return from football practice that day, setting off the search.
The rising water frustrated efforts by the rescuers, includcries ing navy SEALS, to search farther in the cave, which is thought to be about four-five miles long and contain some large chambers. By last night, officials made the call to temporarily pull out.
“We went in a few kilometers and were able to enter a second chamber behind the entrance.
“In that chamber, there was an area where I saw shoes and bags left behind on the ground. We believe the students have gone further in,” said Lt Naponwath Homsai, a SEAL team member.
Parents waited overnight in tents outside the cave entrance as rain continued to pour down. Medics sat in a nearby tent as a few floodlights burned in the front chambers of the cave.
Bicycles, backpacks and football boots left behind by the boys remained at the entrance of the cave.
Mothers and other relatives held a prayer session yesterday evening at the entrance, where there is a shrine with a statue of the Buddha. They laid flowers and then some walked inside, where their could be heard echoing off the walls. “My son, come on out! I am waiting for you here!” one woman cried. Another kneeled down near the bicycles and prayed, asking “Where is my child?”
Namhom Boonpiam, whose 13-year-old son Mongkol is among the missing, said she had been waiting at the entrance since Saturday night.
“I haven’t slept and I hope that all of them can come out, all safe and sound,” she said. “My son is a strong boy. I still have hope.”
Officials remained optimistic the boys would be found safe.
Chote Narin, an officer at Mae Sai district police station, said yesterday afternoon that footprints and handprints were found inside the cave complex. He said the fact that the boys are athletes should help them endure the situation.
Despite heavy rain and rising waters, officials are hopeful that there are still safe spaces in the cave complex, Chiang Rai deputy governor Passako- rn Bunyalak told a news conference. “We’re confident that the kids should still be in good condition,” he said, noting that rescuers had seen nothing inside the cave to indicate otherwise.
Getting deeper into the cave has required lots of oxygen and special diving skills, which would also complicate rescue efforts once the boys are found, Passakorn said.
He said divers might have to first bring food in and the boys might need to wait out the flood or learn the basics of scuba to get out.
The cave, cut into a mountainside in far northern Thailand near the border with Myanmar, is a local tourist attraction but can flood severely during the rainy season, which runs from June to October.
Kamolchai Kotcha, an official at the forest park where the cave is located, said yesterday morning that attempts to reach a large chamber about 2.5 miles from the entrance of the cave had failed as the passage is extremely small, “flooded and covered with sand and mud”.