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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/02/twelve-boys-missing-in-flooded-thai-cave-found-after-nine-days
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| Twelve boys missing in Thai cave found alive after nine days | Twelve boys missing in Thai cave found alive after nine days |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Rescuers are working to free 12 boys and their football coach who have been found alive nine days after going missing in a flooded cave in Thailand, local authorities have said. | Rescuers are working to free 12 boys and their football coach who have been found alive nine days after going missing in a flooded cave in Thailand, local authorities have said. |
| The governor of Chiang Rai province, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said Thai navy Seals had found the group in the six-mile Tham Luang Nang Non cave, on the border with Laos and Myanmar, “all with signs of life”. | The governor of Chiang Rai province, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said Thai navy Seals had found the group in the six-mile Tham Luang Nang Non cave, on the border with Laos and Myanmar, “all with signs of life”. |
| He said, in comments broadcast nationwide, that the 13 were in the process of being rescued, but warned that he did not know their condition and they not were out of danger yet. “We found them safe. But the operation isn’t over,” he said. | He said, in comments broadcast nationwide, that the 13 were in the process of being rescued, but warned that he did not know their condition and they not were out of danger yet. “We found them safe. But the operation isn’t over,” he said. |
| Photographs from the scene showed joyful relatives looking at a picture on an iPad taken by one of the rescue divers showing four of the boys smiling and looking in good health. | |
| The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing after entering the cave on 23 June and being trapped by rising floodwater, prompting a desperate round-the-clock search beset by torrential downpours that stopped divers going in. | The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing after entering the cave on 23 June and being trapped by rising floodwater, prompting a desperate round-the-clock search beset by torrential downpours that stopped divers going in. |
| The international rescue effort has gripped Thailand. Cave diving experts flew in from the UK, and 17 US air force rescue and survival specialists travelled from Japan to join the 132 Thai army, navy and police officers working day and night to try to find the group. | The international rescue effort has gripped Thailand. Cave diving experts flew in from the UK, and 17 US air force rescue and survival specialists travelled from Japan to join the 132 Thai army, navy and police officers working day and night to try to find the group. |
| US navy Seals reached a T-junction deep into the cave, one or two miles from where the boys were believed to be, on Saturday. Other divers including Thai Seals made progress through the passageway on Monday, after the high waters began to recede. | US navy Seals reached a T-junction deep into the cave, one or two miles from where the boys were believed to be, on Saturday. Other divers including Thai Seals made progress through the passageway on Monday, after the high waters began to recede. |
| Narongsak said medical teams have been sent inside the cave and it would take them around four hours to assess the group’s health and how fit they are before coming up with a strategy to get them out. | Narongsak said medical teams have been sent inside the cave and it would take them around four hours to assess the group’s health and how fit they are before coming up with a strategy to get them out. |
| Narongsak said they had been fixing rope lines along the passageway and distributed oxygen tanks along their route, allowing them to advance through the exceptionally narrow passageway unencumbered by bulky equipment. Other teams worked to pump out floodwater and divert groundwater, he said. | Narongsak said they had been fixing rope lines along the passageway and distributed oxygen tanks along their route, allowing them to advance through the exceptionally narrow passageway unencumbered by bulky equipment. Other teams worked to pump out floodwater and divert groundwater, he said. |
| “These are challenging conditions and there’s a lot of consideration for safety as well as, the environment outside is contributing to the environment inside,” said Jessica Tait, a US air force captain who is part the operation. | “These are challenging conditions and there’s a lot of consideration for safety as well as, the environment outside is contributing to the environment inside,” said Jessica Tait, a US air force captain who is part the operation. |
| Several teams trekked into the thick jungle above the cave, desperately looking for new openings that might lead to the trapped boys. One group drilled into a 40-metre chimney that led to a muddy chamber, and helicopters carrying food, water and medical supplies were dispatched to the area. | Several teams trekked into the thick jungle above the cave, desperately looking for new openings that might lead to the trapped boys. One group drilled into a 40-metre chimney that led to a muddy chamber, and helicopters carrying food, water and medical supplies were dispatched to the area. |
| The boys, members of the Moo Pa academy, reportedly knew the site well and had visited it many times before, buoying hopes that they might have trekked to a large airy chamber in the centre. | The boys, members of the Moo Pa academy, reportedly knew the site well and had visited it many times before, buoying hopes that they might have trekked to a large airy chamber in the centre. |
| They cycled to the cave with their coach after football practice and are thought to have crawled in through a narrow 15-metre tunnel that became completely flooded due to almost non-stop heavy rain. | They cycled to the cave with their coach after football practice and are thought to have crawled in through a narrow 15-metre tunnel that became completely flooded due to almost non-stop heavy rain. |
| Overjoyed relatives who had clustered near the cave in an increasingly desperate vigil hugged and smiled as news that the boys had been found filtered back. | Overjoyed relatives who had clustered near the cave in an increasingly desperate vigil hugged and smiled as news that the boys had been found filtered back. |
| “I’m so glad ... I want to him to be physically and mentally fit,” said Tinnakorn Boonpiem, whose 12-year-old son, Mongkol, is among the 13. | |
| “I found out from the television ... I’m so happy I can’t put it into words,” another relative of one of one of the group told television reporters with tears of joy streaming down his cheeks. | |
| Earlier on Monday divers took advantage of a brief window of good weather to edge further into the cave, with the water levels dropping slowly but steadily every hour thanks to round-the-clock pumping. | Earlier on Monday divers took advantage of a brief window of good weather to edge further into the cave, with the water levels dropping slowly but steadily every hour thanks to round-the-clock pumping. |
| They had hoped to find the “Wild Boar” team on an elevated ledge dubbed “Pattaya beach”. | They had hoped to find the “Wild Boar” team on an elevated ledge dubbed “Pattaya beach”. |
| But the boys had retreated 300-400 metres further as the ledge was submerged, Narongsak said. | |
| Rescue workers will now have to work out how to bring the group several miles through the cave – which is still partially submerged and is linked by tight passages. | |
| Anmar Mirza, a leading American cave rescue expert, told Associated Press many challenges remained for the rescuers. He said the primary decision was whether to try to evacuate the boys and their coach or to supply them in place. | |
| “Supplying them on site may face challenges depending on how difficult the dives are,” Mirza, coordinator of the US National Cave Rescue Commission, said. “Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy. That also begets the question: if the dives are difficult then supply will be difficult, but the risk of trying to dive them out is also exponentially greater.” | |
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