Lebanese Ministry of Information
AN operation to rescue the remaining nine people trapped in a flooded Thai cave system is in full swing as the same divers who brought the first four boys to safety go in again.
AN operation to rescue the remaining nine people trapped in a flooded Thai cave system is in full swing as the same divers who brought the first four boys to safety go in again.
But the perilous journey could be even more dangerous the second time around, with rescuers today waking to gloomy skies as another thunderstorm looms, following a night of heavy monsoonal rains lashing the mountainous region. There are concerns that rising floodwaters in the cave complex will complicate rescue efforts and affect the evacuation.
Officials have said storms forecast for Chiang Rai province in Thailand’s far north had factored into their decision to go ahead with a complicated and dangerous plan for the boys aged between 11 and 16 and their coach to dive out of the cave.
Four of the boys were rescued on Sunday, but nine remain underground including their 25-year-old soccer coach, Ekkapol Chantawong. The second leg of the risky operation was placed on hold overnight as air canisters were today replenished along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped for almost two weeks. Defibrillators were also put in place should the rescue take a bad turn. There were reports the divers re-entered the cave around 10am local time (AEST 1pm) Monday.
Thailand’s Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda revealed the same divers who rescued the four boys were conducting subsequent operations because of their knowledge of the terrain. The announcement came after officials met Monday morning to discuss how to get the remaining nine people out of the cave.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this morning said lessons from the initial effort would be applied as two more groups of four are brought out of the cave.
“The fact that it took so many hours underscores how precarious this whole mission is,” she said.
Thai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn described the first rescue as “our masterpiece work” and claimed the four rescued boys were in “perfect” health — despite earlier reports that one was being “closely monitored”. Contrary to initial reports it’s now believed the weakest boys were selected to come out first, following an assessment by Adelaide cave diver and anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris.
Upon exiting the cave, they were evacuated by helicopter and ambulance to hospital in Chiang Rai province, where they remain.
According to CNN, the boys will spend a day or two in isolation, inside a sterilised isolation unit, as a health precaution. This means they’ll have no physical contact with their parents until the isolation period is over.
Authorities have so far refused to release the identities or conditions of the four who have escaped.
“Don’t ask these kinds of questions. Not wise questions to ask,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters in Bangkok on Monday morning when asked about the conditions of the four.
FOUR BOYS RESCUED FROM CAVE
The group of boys, who play in a local soccer team called “Wild Boars”, have been stranded in a cramped chamber of the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23.
When British cave diving specialists found them nine days later, they were cold, dishevelled and malnourished, with several suffering from exhaustion. But the arrival of monsoon rains has made it essential to immediately extract them.
In a race against time amid a heavy downpour, experts concluded their original plan to swim the boys out was the best option.
Thirteen divers entered the cave at 10am Sunday local time (1pm AEST) — some heading straight for the trapped group and others taking up stations along the 3km system of flooded chambers.
Ten rescuers headed to the boys in chamber nine, and to the junction at chamber six, while the others went to support positions shortly afterwards.
Each boy was to wear a full scuba mask, wetsuit, boots and a helmet as they were accompanied by two divers through the cave.
They were to be strapped to a “buddy”, the leading diver, by a tether and dragged along.
This diver was to carry two tanks and share oxygen with the boy as the other followed them through the cold, murky water and airless chambers that have already claimed one life.
The foreign divers and five Thai divers entered the caves after an Australian doctor gave the all-clear. Locals were required because none of the foreigners speak Thai and communication before and during the dive was key.
Additional rescue personnel, including divers from Thailand, the US, Australia, China and Europe, were stationed between the third chamber and the entrance, where the boys would have to use a rope to traverse challenging terrain.
Before the Thai rescuers went in, they posted a message on the navy’s Facebook page: “We, the Thai Navy SEALS, along with the international diver team, are ready to bring the soccer team home.”
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
Officials said on Sunday night that the extraordinary operation would pause for 10 to 20 hours to assess next steps, check equipment and refill oxygen tanks stationed along the dangerous route. How quickly the remaining boys are moved out will depend on the conditions and water levels inside the cave, which are likely to rise with the rain, and could take up to four days to complete. Operations “may stop and start depending on conditions,” the Thai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
The governor said officials were “still at war with water and time”, after experts warned him that rain could shrink the dry ledge where the boys are sheltering to just 10 sqm.
“All the plans must not have any holes in them,” he said, noting that “hundreds of people have vetted this” and “there will always be margins for error”.
He said floodwaters had been drained as much as possible, but the rain could increase the risk.
“The plan that I’ve held on to from the beginning is that we have to bring the kids out and the determining factor of this plan is to have as little water as possible.”
He also warned of higher carbon dioxide levels in the cave.
Water levels inside the cave are fluctuating, making it difficult to know for sure how long some of the dives will take.
The death of military diver Saman Kunan on Friday underscored the huge risks the boys face.
Saman was part of a team trying to establish an airline to the chamber where the children were awaiting rescue. He had placed oxygen tanks along the route but didn’t have enough air to get back to safety.
NEWS.com.au
