Flooding complicates search of cave for 12 Thai boys, coach
MAE SAI, Thailand — Efforts to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach who since Saturday have been missing inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand hinge on pumping out water so that navy divers have room to operate, a highlevel Thai official said Tuesday.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda told reporters that navy SEAL divers leading the search are seriously handicapped by muddy water that has filled some chambers of the large cave to the ceilings.
He said the divers can proceed only when enough water is pumped out so there is space between the water and the ceiling to make it safer to work.
The divers will also soon start using special oxygen tanks that provide longer diving times, he said.
A SEAL diver said the water is so murky that even with lights they cannot see where they are going underwater, so they need to be able to lift their heads above the water.
“The SEAL team will be working nonstop because it’s already dark here too,” Anupong said. “So night and day doesn’t make a big difference. They’ll just need to rotate.”
About a dozen navy divers and other rescuers reentered the cave on Tuesday to search for the boys, age 11-16, who have been missing since their coach took them to the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex on Saturday after a practice match.
But the search had to be suspended again because of high water.
Authorities are also seeking alternative ways in, using helicopters and search parties on foot to find possible holes in the ceilings of other parts of the cave.