Ebbing water raises hope in cave search

MAE SAI, Thailand — The effort to find 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a cave in Thailand for a week picked up pace Saturday, as a break in the rain eased flooding in the system of caverns and more experts from around the world joined the rescue mission.

The search effort in the northern province of Chiang Rai has been going slowly, largely because flooding has blocked rescuers from going through chambers to get deeper into the cave.

The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the sprawling Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a soccer game June 23, but near-constant rain has thwarted the search for them. Authorities have nevertheless expressed hope that the group has found a dry place within the cave to wait and that they are still alive.

Australian police and military personnel were deployed Saturday to join other multinational teams, including U.S. military personnel and experts from a British cave exploration club.

Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the falling water level in the cave has helped the rescue effort considerably. “Today the situation is much better and we have high hopes, and will be here all night,” he said early Saturday evening.

With water levels dropping, Thai navy divers resumed work Saturday, re-entering a chamber from which they had retreated earlier in the week.

AP/SAKCHAI LALIT Workers pump water Saturday from the flooded cave where members of a boys soccer team and their coach disappeared a week ago in northern Thailand.