Rescuers warn of 'limited time' to get Thai boys out of cave

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Rescuers are racing against time to bring 12 boys and their soccer coach out of a cave in northern Thailand where they have been trapped for two weeks, as heavy monsoon rains threaten to pick up again.

"The critical point is when it rains again... There is limited time," Narongsak Osottanakorn, head of the rescue mission and Chiang Rai's former governor, told a midnight media briefing on Saturday.

He said he wanted to reduce risks but added that falling oxygen levels inside the cave were another "really big concern."

Thai rescue personnel are seen at the Tham Luang cave area, July 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

The warning came a day after a Thai diver died during part of the rescue operation, bringing home just how risky any attempt to get the boys out will be.

A team of Thai Navy SEALS, soldiers, police and volunteers have been working around the clock to try and drain part of the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Chiang Rai province.

The boys entered the cave on June 23 and were then trapped by sudden floodwaters.

Aged between 11 and 16, they are now hurriedly being taught to take on a treacherous dive through narrow, muddy, submerged passageways.

Other rescue alternatives include stocking the cave with supplies and an oxygen line to keep the boys alive in the cave for months until Thailand's monsoon season ends, or drilling a shaft down into the cave from the forest above.

Narongsak said they would have to drill through 600 meters to reach the boys and were discussing drilling angles.

A relative cries during rescue operations for 12 boys and their coach trapped in Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

Tough task ahead

The initial jubilation around the boys' discovery on Monday has faded as the reality of the challenge of their extraction has set in.

Experienced cave divers are taking up to 11 hours to complete the round trip to the boys and back, through cramped passageways and fast flowing muddy waters where visibility is highly restricted.

Many of the boys are unable to swim and none have any scuba experience.

The sheer danger was made all the more apparent on Friday by the death of Saman Kunan, a former Thai Navy SEAL diver, who ran out of oxygen while returning from the chamber where the boys are trapped.

Volunteers carrying marine exploration and rescue equipment depart from Hangzhou, China, to help efforts to rescue 12 boys and their coach trapped in a cave in Thailand, July 6, 2018. /VCG Photo

Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk said Friday he was sending engineers from his SpaceX and Boring Co. – which has experience in tunneling technology – to offer help.

Divers and volunteers have also come from the UK, the US, China, Australia, Finland, and the Czech Republic to assist in the rescue effort.

Apology and World Cup invitation

In a scrawled note released by the Thai Navy on Saturday, the boys’ 25-year-old coach offered his "apologies to the parents."

"To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the very best care of the kids," he also said.

Divers also took the boys letters written by their family members camped outside the cave, while messages of support have come in from across the world, including from football stars in Russia for the World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday even invited the boys to be his guests at the World Cup Final in Moscow on July 15 if they make it out in time.

A handwritten message written by a boy trapped in the Tham Luang cave. /VCG Photo Thai Navy Seal

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters