Threat of rain dampens euphoria

● Race against time as rescuers may have to teach Thai teens to dive before forecast rains bring further flooding to caves

Heavy rains forecast for later this week could flood the cave even further and the boys may need to swim out using diving equipment before then, the Thai interior minister said.

Anupong Paojinda said they could use the same narrow passages out that their rescuers used to get in and would need to be guided by experts, an extremely dangerous task for a novice.

“Diving is not easy. For people who have never done it, it will be difficult, unlike diving in a swimming pool, because the cave’s features have small channels,” he said, adding: “If something happens midway, it could be life-threatening.”

The forecasted rainfall means there will not be much time to teach the boys and coach them in how to swim using scuba equipment, heightening the risk.

Another option previously suggested was waiting for the water level to drop, which some officials reportedly fear could take months, as the country’s rainy season typically lasts into October.

Rescuers have also searched for other potential entrances to drill into the chamber and airlift the group out. It is estimated that the boys are around half a mile below the surface.

But it would be a complex and delicate task as the cave stretches under a mountainside for up to six miles and the rocky ground varies in elevation throughout.

Mr Stanton and Mr Volanthen, along with a third Briton, Robert Harper, joined the “huge” search operation after the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) was contacted by Thai authorities seeking expert help.

Thai authorities have said that the military will make the final decision on how the group are rescued.

Relatives have been camped at the cave opening ever since the group went missing, praying for their safe return.

Tham Chanthawong, an aunt of the coach, said after they were found: “I want to give him a hug. In these ten days, how many million seconds have there been? I’ve missed him every second.”

Footage showed children in red and blue tops perched on a rocky slope inside the chamber just above the water line after they were found.

A rescuer with an English accent is heard trying to reassure the group that help is coming, but warns they will not be taken out immediately, saying: “Not today. There’s two of us, you have to dive.”

All 13 are in a good condition after being assessed, Thai navy Seals said. Commander Rear Adm Arpakorn Yookongkaew told reporters the group had been given food and were being looked after by members of his team.

He said a rescue attempt where the boys dive out would have to be drilled to ensure it is safe as possible.

BCRC vice chairman Bill Whitehouse said all focus was on extracting the group safely.

“It was euphoria for a moment and then you draw back and think ‘What do we do?’ It’s not going to be easy to get 13 people out of a flooded cave,” he said.

“There’s space to make your way through, but it is 50/50 underwater over 1.5km. That’s still a lot of diving and it’s possible it will need a lot of equipment. The question is how much time until the water goes up again.”

The group have had a brief medical assessment and been given painkillers and antibiotics as a precaution.

Elite divers Mr Stanton and Mr Volanthen have established reputations as being among the best cave rescuers in the world, and were called upon by Thai authorities seeking expert help.

Mr Stanton, a fireman from Coventry, and Mr Volanthen, an IT consultant based in Bristol, have broken diving world records together and both received medals for a complex ten-day rescue attempt in France in 2010.