Likely saved by birthday snacks
Trapped-in-cave Thai boys said to have brought food along with them
Mae Sai: Pheeraphat Sompiengjai’s family still have a birthday cake in the fridge waiting for his return home, as the discovery of the missing boy and his football team in a Thai cave brings joy to relatives but despair at the long rescue ahead.
Grilled pork and dessert had been prepared as a postfootball birthday treat for Pheeraphat – known by his nickname “Night” – who turned 16 on June 23.
Night’s relatives waited that evening to celebrate his birthday – his 17th by Thai tradition. But he did not come home.
Instead Night, his 11 teammates and their 25yearold coach made the illfated decision to walk into the Tham Luang cave after training.
The boys chipped in to buy snacks to take down to the cave to mark his birthday, relatives at Night’s village of Vieng Hom said yesterday.
They speculated it was those snacks that sustained them during the nineday ordeal before they were found late Monday huddled in the dark on a muddy bank, floodwaters ominously beneath them.
It was meant to be very different, says Night’s sister Phunphatsa.
“We prepared dinner to celebrate and some relatives came to join. The cake is in the fridge. I kept it there to surprise him,” she said.
As the hours passed they knew something was wrong, in a tightknit community now wracked by anxiety for the boys’ return.
As the rescue mission drew a blank for days, the family kept the cake because “they still had hope” he would be found alive.
Their village, abutted by rice fields and framed by Northern Thailand’s dramatic mountains, is also home to three of the other boys trapped in the cave.
The group still languish inside the cave’s 10kmlong passages, with floods blocking their exit, but are now under the care of Thai navy divers and medics.
But fresh rains are forecast and a complex evacuation lies ahead.
The distress was eased a little on Wednesday, when fresh video released by the navy showed the team smiling and looking markedly healthier than when they were found two days ago.
“He said: ‘Hello, I am Night. I’m fine.’” Night’s mother Supaluk told AFP.
Night joined the football team about a year ago and played in goal.
His sister said the four cave boys from Baan Vieng Hom would gath er at their house nearly every day before going out to play.
It may be days, weeks or even months before they can resume their normal routines.
Meanwhile, authorities are working with navy SEALs to run a fibre optic Internet line into the cave.
Communication technician Phoowanart Keawdum said yesterday that once the cable is installed, phone calls to the cave will be possible.
Authorities tried to do the same on Tuesday, but the equipment was damaged by the water.
The Thai official overseeing the rescue operation said the boys and their coach may not all be extracted at the same time depending on their health.
Chiang Rai provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said that “all 13 may not come out at the same time. If the condition is right and if that person is ready 100%, he can come out.”
He said authorities will evaluate their readiness each day and if there is any risk will not proceed.
He said the team is currently recuperating.
Authorities are still determining the best way to get the team out of the cave, options that include diving. — AFP / AP