Watching the grey skies with terror, their parents can only wait and pray
FOR the anguished parents of the lost boys, there is nothing to do but wait and pray.
It is now two weeks since their sons walked into the cavern and never came out. Their mothers light incense sticks and pray in front of a statue of Buddha.
But their silent vigil is in stark contrast to the extraordinary scenes developing around them.
For ever since the 12 footballers and their coach were found on Monday deep inside the Tham Luang cave system in northern Thailand, a functioning tented town has sprung up in the jungle around the rescue operation.
Soldiers, police, navy divers, European volunteers, engineers, workmen, government officials and even hairdressers – along with scores of television and newspaper journalists – all squelch through the quagmire.
Field kitchens have been set up with teams of cooks rustling up hot meals for everyone.
Every few hours, teams of exhausted, mud-caked rescuers
emerge to enthusiastic applause from the tunnels. A few feet away, the mothers and fathers watch, but don’t eat.
Among them are the parents of Prajak Sutham. They have kept a 24-hour vigil since rushing to the remote jungle spot the morning after their 14-yearold son, nicknamed ‘Note’, failed to return from his excursion.
Note’s mother Ratdao Janthapoon, 35, and father Sudsakhon Sutham have vowed to stay as long as it takes – even though officials warn it could be months if they are forced to wait out the monsoon.
Sarisa Promjak, Note’s aunt, said: ‘My sister has been up the cave since the day after Note went missing and she has been there ever since. She and her husband spend day and night there. Note’s dad says he cannot eat. They say they will not leave until their boy is safe.’
A huge pumping operation is under way to reduce the flood levels inside the caverns. Water spurts out of long hoses at the rate of 180,000 litres an hour and gushes down the hillside.
Inside the caves, the water levels are dropping – but agonisingly slowly. Everyone eyes the grey sky with fear, as forecasters predict a week of monsoon rains. Another problem is sinking oxygen levels inside the caves – down from the normal 21 per cent to 15 per cent – caused by dozens of rescuers being in there. Teams of divers have been transporting canisters into the tunnels to release oxygen.
As Ivan Karadzic, 44, a volunteer diver from Denmark, returned for a second shift yesterday, he said: ‘Somebody died and obviously it is a little bit scary going in there. But we have to carry on.’ A plan to run a phone line in has yet to work. Full-face diving masks have been taken in too, with the children undergoing a crash course in cave diving. After a fraught nine days, the youngsters, aged 11 to 16, were finally located on Monday by two heroic British cave-diving experts, Rick Stanton, 56, from Coventry, and John Volanthen, 47, from Bristol.
High above the tented city on the mountaintop are further teams hunting for a secret passage down to the boys, who reported being able to hear roosters and children earlier this week. Eight birds’ nest collectors, who are skilled at scaling limestone peaks, have joined the search.
Three of the lost boys are reportedly beginning to weaken, officials revealed yesterday. With time running out, the full nerve-wracking rescue mission may soon begin.
For the parents waiting outside, it will be a terrifying mixture of dread and hope.
‘It’s scary but we have to carry on’