Rescuers race to drain water inside Thai cave before rains
MAE SAI, Thailand — With more rain coming, Thai rescuers are racing to pump out water from a flooded cave before they can extract 12 boys and their soccer coach with minimum risk, officials said Thursday.
A firefighter who has been working on draining the water said parts of a passage leading to the chamber where the group was found Monday was still flooded to its ceiling, making diving the only way out.
“What we worry most is the weather,” Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn told report- ers. “We can’t risk having the flood back into the cave.”
The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went exploring in the northern province cave after a soccer game June 23. Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for 10 days. The boys have been described as in good health. Authorities have said the soccer players are being looked after by Thai navy commandos, including medics, staying with them inside the cave.
Narongsak said the boys have practiced wearing div- ing masks and breathing in case they may have to dive.
Officials prefer to get the boys out as soon as possible because heavy rain expected by Saturday almost surely will raise water levels again in the cave, making passage in some areas even more difficult, if not impossible.
They are hoping that an upgraded draining effort can lower the water in an area where it is at or near the ceiling. The idea is to get some headroom so the boys would not be reliant on scuba apparatus for a long stretch and could keep their heads above water.