Parentsand, relatives and frinds wait anxiously as authorities, emergency workers and the rescuers plan evacuation of 12 boys and a coach from a flooded cave.
12 missing boys and their football coach were found alive and apparently safe in Tham Luang cave by a British cave explorer.
“They became trapped after entering the Tham Luang Cave on June 23 after soccer practice. Evacuating the group through flooded passages will be difficult and dangerous, experts say, in part because the boys are unlikely to have dived before.”, reported Bangkok Post.
“The group, mostly seated and with baggy football shirts pulled over their knees, asked for food and to leave the cave immediately, according to the video, which was shared on the official Facebook page of the Royal Thai Navy Seals.
It showed all 13 members of the team moving, alert and with questions: "How long have we been here?" and "When will we get out?", reported Bangkok Post.
"You have been here for 10 days, you are very strong," one of the divers told the boys.
“Another round of hard work now begins to extract them from the flooded and cramped cave.” , reported coordinator of the US National Cave Rescue Commission.
Anmar Mirza, a leading American cave rescue expert and coordinator of the US National Cave Rescue Commission, said many challenges remain for the rescuers. He said the primary decision is 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 said in an email, which was quoted by Bangkok Post.
"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.", said Mirza.
Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of one of the boys, 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, smiled and hugged her family. She said she would cook her son a Thai fried omelette, his favourite food, when he returns home.
Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said in Bangkok on Tuesday that the “13 footballers would be brought out of the cave… through the passage to its main entrance. Rescuers would try to minimise the necessity for them to dive by pumping as much water as possible out of the cave first.”
“The boys must regain their strength first. None of them know how to swim”, he said.
“They would have to dive at some sections, especially through a narrow section where close escort was not possible. They would have to use diving gear by themselves and pass through one after another”, Gen Anupong said.
"Diving is not easy. Those who have never done it will find it difficult, because there are narrow passages in the cave. They must be able to use diving gear. If the gear is lost at any moment, it can be dangerous to life," Anupong said.
"As rain is forecast in the next few days, the evacuation must speed up. Diving gear will be used. If the water rises, the task will be difficult. We must bring the kids out before then," he said.
