Rescuers say the 12 boys and their soccer coach do not yet have the adequate diving skills needed to leave the flooded cave. The announcement comes amid fears of further monsoon rains forecast for the coming days.
Image: imago/Xinhua
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Thai rescuers have said 12 boys and their soccer coach who have been trapped inside a flooded cave in Thailand for two weeks are not yet ready to attempt an underwater evacuation.
In an update early Saturday Narongsak Osatanakorn, the local governor in charge of the operation, said it was "not suitable" to make the boys dive to safety yet. Rescuers said the group had not yet learned the diving skills needed to leave the flooded cave.
But Narongsak said at a news conference on Friday that if heavy rains started and appeared to be causing flooding in further areas of the cave, divers would attempt to evacuate the boys immediately.
Another option
Meanwhile, Thai authorities have started drilling more than 100 chimneys into the mountainside in a bid to extract the boys from above.
Narongsak said they would have to drill through 600 meters (1,970 feet) of delicate limestone rock to reach the group and drilling angles were still being discussed.
"Some (of the chimneys) are as deep as 400 meters... but they still cannot find their location yet," Osottanakorn told reporters.
Osottanakorn admitted the rescue mission lacked the technology "to pinpoint where they [the boys] are staying."
"We estimate that (they) are 600 meters down, but we don't know the (exact) target," he said.
Osottanakorn also said the rescue team had established a line to pump fresh air into the cave.
Why it was so difficult to extricate Thai cave boys
After a daring rescue mission, Thai divers and international volunteers rescued 12 young soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave. The group was stranded in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex for 18 days.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom
Happy ending after harrowing ordeal
After deliberating over how best to rescue the boys and their coach - considering even whether to teach them how to dive, or wait for the monsoon waters to recede months later - rescue workers finally settled on pumping out as much water as possible, sedating those trapped and strapping them to a diver who shepherded them to safety.
Image: Reuters/Thai Navy Seals
Found alive after nine days
Rescue divers initially found the 12 young soccer players and their coach alive on July 3 after they went missing in a Thai cave 10 days earlier. Fighting against time, rain and low oxygen levels, rescuers managed to free the first four boys successfully on July 8. The rescuers faced a complicated and dangerous diving mission to free the rest of the team and their coach.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom
Glimpse of joy
Families of the teenage soccer players expressed their joy over the discovery of the boys nine days after they went missing. Outside the cave, the mother of one of the boys said she was "glad" for a glimpse of her son. "He's thinner," she said, as she ran her finger over the image of her son on a television screen.
Image: Thai Navy Seal via AP
Massive rescue efforts
Thai rescuers were assisted by an international team comprising experts from China, Australia, the USA and Britain. A video from the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page showed the group several kilometers inside the 10-kilometer (6-mile) cave network on a small wedge of dry ground. The boys moved 400 meters further in as the ledge had become covered by water.
Trapped by flooding
The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the cave to celebrate one of the player's birthday. They became trapped in the cave, a local tourist spot where similar incidents have taken place in the past, when sudden rainfall flooded its entry on June 23. It was later reported that some of the boys could not swim, further complicating the rescue.
Image: picture-alliance/Xinhua
A difficult mission
The rescue mission proved difficult for divers whose efforts were continually hampered by rising water that filled sections of the cave, often forcing them to stop. Getting trained divers into the cave was easier than getting untrained kids out.
Image: Reuters/S. Zeya Tun
Boys' safety paramount
The entire nation was glued to the media coverage of the rescue mission, and Thai authorities insisted they will not compromise on the safety of the trapped group. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (above, at right) thanked international experts who helped find the boys.
Image: picture alliance/Xinhua News Agency
First boys rescued
The first four boys were rescued by a team of 13 foreign diving experts and Thai Navy SEALS, who helped them navigate the flooded cave tunnels. The head of the rescue operation said they were the healthiest in the group. The rest of the boys and their coach would be rescued from the cave over the next two days.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Suwanrumpha
Safe and sound
Doctors who treated the boys after their rescue reported that while they had lost weight, the otherwise appeared to be in good health. The dozens of divers and hundreds of other rescue workers have been celebrated around the world as heroes, especially 38-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, who died after bringing the group supplies of air on July 5.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Thailand Government Spokesman Bureau
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'We have limited time'
Thailand's Navy SEAL commander also said rescuers may have little choice but to attempt the difficult extraction of the group.
"At first, we thought the children could stay for a long time ... but now things have changed, we have a limited time," Apakorn Yookongkaew told reporters.
Samarn Kunan died while diving to place oxygen canisters along a potential route for the upcoming rescue attempt.
"Despite this, we will continue until we accomplish our mission," Arpakorn said Friday.
Photos posted on the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page on Saturday showed handwritten notes from the boys that have been sent out of the cave, expressing gratitude, love and dreams of food.
Coach apologizes
The football team coach Ekkapol Chantawong, who is 25 years old, has apologized to the boys' parents in a note that he handed to the divers.
"To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the very best care of the kids," he said.
"Thank you for all the moral support and I apologize to the parents."
Thai people have a split opinion about Ekkapol's role in the football team's predicament. Many are lauding him after reports emerged that he gave his share of food to keep the boys alive for nine days until the rescue team traced them. Others are criticizing him for deciding to take the boys into the cave during the monsoon season.
