All eyes on Tham Luang
In a story that has gripped the world, the official rescue mission of 12 young boys and their football coach kicked off yesterday.
Thai authorities began on Sunday a dramatic operation to rescue 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded Tham Luang cave in Thailand, where they have been trapped for more than two weeks.
The group was found on Monday, 2 July after having been reported missing on 23 June.
The find followed two earlier attempts which had to be abandoned. On Sunday, a team of 13 international specialist divers along with five Thai SEAL divers launched the rescue of the soccer team, trapped for 15 days.
With fresh monsoon rains due, rescuers warned the window of opportunity to evacuate the boys is “limited”. The youngsters, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach of the 'Wild Boars' soccer team, entered the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand during heavy rains after football practice.
The story has gripped the world and vigils have been set up outside the cave with thousands of media houses reporting from the site.
Shortly after their disappearance, Thai Navy SEAL divers entered the cave searching for the boys.
Divers reached a T-junction several kilometres inside the cave but were forced back by rushing floodwaters that clog a narrow crevice near an elevated air pocket called “Pattaya Beach”, where the boys were believed to have retreated.
A team of more than 30 American military personnel from the US Pacific Command arrived, including pararescue and survival specialists. They were joined by three British diving experts who entered the cave but once again, quickly retreated in the face of heavy flooding. The underwater rescue was temporarily halted after downpours brought fast-moving floods inside the cave.
Water pumps were shipped in to drain the rising, murky floodwaters and drones were dispatched to help find new vents in the cave roof. A break in the rain allowed divers to reach further inside the cave but they were still a long distance from where the boys were believed to be. An operating base was set up inside and hundreds of air tanks and other supplies were pulleyed in. The boys were finally found late on the evening of 2 July, roughly 400 metres beyond Pattaya Beach. Crowds at the teeming rescue site cheered the good news, but attention soon turned to the difficult task of getting the boys out safely. Much-needed food and medical supplies - including high-calorie gels and paracetamol were sent in to the boys as rescuers prepared for the possibility that they may remain in the cave for some time. At the time, officials said the group were being taught how to use diving masks and breathing apparatus. Teams were still pumping out water around the clock as more rain was forecast for the days ahead. In a sign of increased urgency, authorities said expected rains may force a complex rescue quicker than first thought. A team of bird's nest collectors scoured the mountainside in search of new openings into the cave roof.
A senior Thai SEAL Saman Kunan then died on Friday due to a lack of oxygen after returning from the chamber. His death raised serious doubts over the safety of attempting a rescue through the cave's cramped and waterlogged passageways. To further compound matters, Thailand's Navy SEAL commander announced oxygen levels inside the cave had dropped. He warned the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is “limited”, in the first official admission that the rescue cannot wait out the monsoon rains.
The head of the rescue mission said more than 100 vents were being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach the boys.
On Sunday morning, authorities announced that, with more heavy rain expected soon, the extraction operation had begun.
The boys were to be removed one by one and the operation was expected to take several days. Reports indicate that one rescue mission could take around 11 hours and the first boy was expected to be out and safe sometime during Sunday evening.
NAMPA/AFP
The group was found on Monday, 2 July after having been reported missing on 23 June.
The find followed two earlier attempts which had to be abandoned. On Sunday, a team of 13 international specialist divers along with five Thai SEAL divers launched the rescue of the soccer team, trapped for 15 days.
With fresh monsoon rains due, rescuers warned the window of opportunity to evacuate the boys is “limited”. The youngsters, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach of the 'Wild Boars' soccer team, entered the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand during heavy rains after football practice.
The story has gripped the world and vigils have been set up outside the cave with thousands of media houses reporting from the site.
Shortly after their disappearance, Thai Navy SEAL divers entered the cave searching for the boys.
Divers reached a T-junction several kilometres inside the cave but were forced back by rushing floodwaters that clog a narrow crevice near an elevated air pocket called “Pattaya Beach”, where the boys were believed to have retreated.
A team of more than 30 American military personnel from the US Pacific Command arrived, including pararescue and survival specialists. They were joined by three British diving experts who entered the cave but once again, quickly retreated in the face of heavy flooding. The underwater rescue was temporarily halted after downpours brought fast-moving floods inside the cave.
Water pumps were shipped in to drain the rising, murky floodwaters and drones were dispatched to help find new vents in the cave roof. A break in the rain allowed divers to reach further inside the cave but they were still a long distance from where the boys were believed to be. An operating base was set up inside and hundreds of air tanks and other supplies were pulleyed in. The boys were finally found late on the evening of 2 July, roughly 400 metres beyond Pattaya Beach. Crowds at the teeming rescue site cheered the good news, but attention soon turned to the difficult task of getting the boys out safely. Much-needed food and medical supplies - including high-calorie gels and paracetamol were sent in to the boys as rescuers prepared for the possibility that they may remain in the cave for some time. At the time, officials said the group were being taught how to use diving masks and breathing apparatus. Teams were still pumping out water around the clock as more rain was forecast for the days ahead. In a sign of increased urgency, authorities said expected rains may force a complex rescue quicker than first thought. A team of bird's nest collectors scoured the mountainside in search of new openings into the cave roof.
A senior Thai SEAL Saman Kunan then died on Friday due to a lack of oxygen after returning from the chamber. His death raised serious doubts over the safety of attempting a rescue through the cave's cramped and waterlogged passageways. To further compound matters, Thailand's Navy SEAL commander announced oxygen levels inside the cave had dropped. He warned the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is “limited”, in the first official admission that the rescue cannot wait out the monsoon rains.
The head of the rescue mission said more than 100 vents were being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach the boys.
On Sunday morning, authorities announced that, with more heavy rain expected soon, the extraction operation had begun.
The boys were to be removed one by one and the operation was expected to take several days. Reports indicate that one rescue mission could take around 11 hours and the first boy was expected to be out and safe sometime during Sunday evening.
NAMPA/AFP
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