MAE SAI (Thailand): Rescue divers reached several kilometers inside a flooded cave today where 12 boys and their football coach have been trapped for a week, offering a flicker of hope for the harrowing search.
There has been no contact with the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach since they went into the Tham Luang cave last weekend and were hemmed in by heavy rains that blocked the entrance. The desperate, round-the-clock search for the team has been beset by torrential downpours that submerged tunnels near the entrance, blocking divers from going on. But Navy SEAL divers nearly reached a T-junction in the depths of the cave just two or three kilometres (one to two miles) from where the boys are believed to be, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
Divers reached the same spot earlier in the week but were forced back by rushing floodwaters. Water levels inside the complex labyrinth of tunnels finally dropped thanks to dozens of pumps set up to drain the pools even as heavy rain continued to pound the area near the Myanmar and Laos borders. “The situation is better today than yesterday and the day before. Water has receded considerably and we are pumping out water in all chambers (near the entrance),” Narongsak told reporters. As the search for the boys hit its seventh day, attention turned to their chances of survival inside a cave with little or no food and light.
A relevant piece published earlier: Desperate parents led a prayer ceremony outside a flooded cave in northern Thailand where 12 children and their football coach have been trapped for days, as military rescue divers packing food rations resumed their search Tuesday.
Hundreds of people have been mobilized to find the youngsters who went into the Tham Luang cave on Saturday and were trapped when heavy rains flooded its main entrance. Anxious relatives camped out to perform traditional rituals, making offerings and reciting emotional prayers for their children’s safe return.
“I asked for all God’s wishes, but I’m certain in my heart that they will survive. They have been inside the cave before,” the father of one of the young footballers said. Some relatives wailed at the cave’s entrance near the Laos and Myanmar border, where huge crowds have gathered near stockpiles of water and food. “My child, I’m here to get you now,” one crying parent said, while another screamed: “Come home, my child!”.
The children, aged between 11 and 16, are thought to have retreated further into the tunnel as monsoon rains fell and flooded the cave, believed to be several kilometers (miles) long. Rescuers found bicycles, football boots and backpacks at the entrance to the site Monday, and divers said they spotted footprints in one of the cave’s chambers.
