Rescue continuing after divers free four boys from flooded cave
Seven involved in dangerous operation
RESCUE OPERATIONS were due to continue overnight after divers rescued four boys from a flooded cave in Thailand yesterday.
Fears over rising water and lowered oxygen levels in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province led to the hazardous rescue operation being launched yesterday.
The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach, became trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave after they had gone exploring after a football game on June 23.
Thai officials said 13 foreign divers – including seven from the UK – and five Thai divers are taking part in the operation, which is expected to take up to four days.
There was a pause of at least 10 hours after the four boys were rescued yesterday as air tanks needed to be replaced.
Rescues were due to continue this morning.
Two divers will accompany each boy as they are gradually extracted.
The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said army Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam.
The only way to bring the boys out is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air.
A former Thai navy Seal died making the dive on Friday.
The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) confirmed that seven divers from the UK were involved when four of the youngsters were brought out of the cave yesterday before being taken to hospital.
The Thai official leading the rescue operation said it has gone “better than expected” and that the healthiest boys have been taken out first.
The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages.
ELITE UK divers were among a team who rescued four boys from a flooded cave in Thailand at the launch of a complex and dangerous operation.
The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) confirmed that seven divers from the UK were involved when four of the youngsters were brought out of the cave yesterday before being taken to hospital.
The extraction operation was launched yesterday more than two weeks after 12 boys from a football team and their coach were trapped underground.
The only way to bring the boys out of Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air.
Rescuers pumped millions of litres of water out of the cave network to try to extract the group through nearly a mile of tunnels.
Thai officials are not only racing against worsening weather, but also lowered oxygen levels in the underground complex in the north of the country.
Former Thai navy Seal Saman Kunan passed out making the dive on Friday and died.
Two elite British divers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, were the first rescuers to reach the group on Monday night and are believed to be part of the team involved in the rescue operation.
A BCRC spokesman said: “The UK divers are part of the core team, so they will be actively involved and that will include escorting each child out through the flooded passage.
“The operation is being supervised by the Thai authorities.
“They have had to make a quick decision because they are really concerned about the water level rising.”
The Thai official leading the rescue operation said it has gone “better than expected” and that the healthiest boys have been taken out first.
Chief of operations governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said 13 foreign and five Thai divers are taking part in the operation.
Two divers will accompany each boy as they are gradually extracted.
The entire operation to get all 13 out of the cave could take two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said Thai army Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam.
A doctor and paramedics are standing by to provide medical attention whenever the rescue team emerges.
The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave after they had gone exploring after a football game on June 23.
Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and they have been on a rocky shelf inside a cave chamber since.
Although weak, they are largely in good health, authorities have said.
Thai army commander Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam said the 13 “will continuously come out in approximately two to four days, which all may change depending on weather and water conditions.”
Experienced cave rescue experts considered an underwater escape a last resort, especially with those untrained in diving, as the boys are.
The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages.
But the governor supervising the mission said earlier that mild weather and falling water levels over the last few days had created optimal conditions for an underwater evacuation that will not last if it rains again.
Before announcing that the rescue was under way, authorities ordered the throngs of media gathered at the cave from around the world to leave.
Thailand’ s King Mah aV aj ira longk or nBo din dr a deb ayavarangkunsaid last week he was “pleased and greatly relieved” that rescuers had found the boys and their coach.
They are really concerned about the water level rising. A British Cave Rescue Council spokesman .