International

Second phase of Thai cave rescue underway

Thai cave rescue

July 09, 2018 | 09:54 AM
Narongsak Osottanakorn, former governor of Chiang Rai province and the head of the rescue mission, attends a news conference after resuming the mission to rescue a group of boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave on Monday.
The second phase of the operation to extricate nine members of a Thai youth football team from a flooded cave began on Monday and was expected to yield "good news" within hours, the chief of the rescue mission told reporters.
The dive team, led by international experts, returned to the cave mid-morning on Monday -- earlier than expected -- aiming to bring out more from the group of boys and their coach, who became trapped in the Tham Luang cave complex on June 23.Four of the 13 were rescued on Sunday, but authorities have not yet identified them publicly and details of their condition remain sparse. "All the equipment is ready. Oxygen bottles are ready... in next few hours we will have good news," Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters, after announcing the second phase of the rescue bid had begun."They (the four) are well and happy. This morning they complained that they are hungry and they asked for fried basil with rice," he added in front of global media.But they will be "kept away" from physical contact with their parents until the risk of infection is over, he said, adding doctors will decide on family visits "at a distance or through glass".Narongsak defended the lack of public disclosure of the names of the boys who had already been guided to safety, saying it "will create ill feeling" if their names are released while others languish inside the cave.He also urged the media to behave respectfully. More than 1,000 journalists from across the world have descended on northern Thailand to report the story.Thais have been fixated on the crisis, hoping desperately for the safe return of the boys, aged from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach, since they became trapped in the Tham Luang cave complex on June 23 because of rising waters.
They spent nine days unaccounted for inside the cave, before British divers found the emaciated and dishevelled group huddling on a muddy bank above the flooding.On Sunday four members of the "Wild Boar" team were successfully brought out from the cave, after authorities decided they had to rush ahead with a rescue operation to beat monsoon rains.They were guided by expert divers who plotted the hours-long escape through more than four kilometres of twisting passageways and flooded chambers.
Classmates pray after their teacher announced some of the 12 schoolboys trapped inside a flooded cave, had been rescued. Rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn on Sunday said four of the team -- affectionately dubbed by Thai social media Wild Boars 1,2,3,4 -- were "safe" and said the extraction effort would likely resume early Monday."Wetarget="_blank"'>The saga has stirred reaction from across the world of politics, sport and business, with American tech entrepreneur Elon Musk trailing the idea of dragging the kids free in a purpose-built escape pod to his 22.2 million-strong Twitter following.
July 09, 2018 | 09:54 AM