The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Trapped boys found in cave not out of danger
Officials say diving exit option ‘could be life-threatening’, with heavy rain forecast
British divers who discovered 12 trapped boys and their football coach in flooded caves in Thailand face the daunting prospect of helping them to safety with heavy rainfall forecast for this week.
Rick Stanton and John Volanthen were the first rescuers to reach the group, aged between 11 and 16, and their coach, 25, who disappeared in the Luang Nang Non Cave, in Chiang Rai province, on June 23.
There were scenes of elation late on Monday as relatives gathered at the cave site learned the group had been found in a stable medical condition and given high-protein liquid food.
But rescuers now must grapple with the challenge of safely extracting the group through nearly a mile of tunnels, large portions of which are underwater.
Heavy rains forecast for this week could flood the cave even further and the boys may need to swim out using diving equipment before then, the Thai interior minister has said .
Anupong Paojinda said they could use the same narrow passages out that their rescuers used to get in and would need to be guided by experts, an extremely dangerous task for a novice.
“Diving is not easy. For people who have never done it, it will be difficult, unlike diving in a swimming pool, because the cave’s features have small channels,” he said, adding: “If something happens midway, it could be life-threatening.”
The forecasted rainfall means there will not be much time to teach the boys and coach them in how to swim using scuba equipment, heightening the risk.
Mr Stanton and Mr Volanthen, along with a third Briton, Robert Harper, joined the “huge” search operation after the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) was contacted by Thai authorities seeking expert help.
Thai authorities have said the military will make the final decision on how the group are rescued. All 13 are in a good condition after being assessed by medics, Thai navy Seals said.
Relatives have been camped at the cave opening ever since the group went missing, praying for their safe return.
Tham Chanthawong, an aunt of the coach, said after they were found: “I want to give him a hug. In these 10 days, how many million seconds have there been? I’ve missed him every second.”
Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said the search mission has “created gratitude and happiness for people all over the country”. He said: “I have to thank the international community in assisting us. This would not have been possible if we didn’t help each other. Everybody did their part.”