Parents on edge as rain hinders hunt

Parents on edge as rain hinders hunt

Divers head deeper into flooded cave

Soldiers relay electric cable deep inside Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai yesterday as 13 people, mostly teenagers, prepared to spend their fourth night in the flooded cave. AFP
Soldiers relay electric cable deep inside Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai yesterday as 13 people, mostly teenagers, prepared to spend their fourth night in the flooded cave. AFP

Search teams led by Navy Seals ventured deeper inside a cave in Chiang Rai yesterday but were unable to find 12 missing footballers and their 26-year-old coach who have been stranded inside its sprawling caverns cut off by rising water since Saturday.

The search teams navigate their way through flooded areas, narrow passages and obstacles before eventually reaching a large rock chamber known locally as "Pattaya Beach", which is about five kilometres from the mouth of the cave.

The chamber reaches as high as 60 metres and has an air hole at the top but there were still no signs of the young athletes, who are aged 11 to 16, apart from some fresh footprints discovered a day earlier.

Families expressed growing concern over their safety as they had been trapped in Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district of this northern province with no food for four days in bitterly cold conditions, especially at night.

Chaiporn Siripornpibul, an expert from the Department of Mineral Resources, said a team of rescuers sent by the department had located an alternative entrance about 4km southwest of the main entrance and had already begun exploring to determine whether it is linked to another rock chamber dubbed "Point B".

The team hoped the children were harbouring there as that could serve as a possible safe haven above the rising waters, which were fed by more heavy rain yesterday. There is also a reservoir located beneath the cave, which is close to the Myanmar border.

As of press time the team had not reported reaching Point B.

"We still don't know whether the new entrance will lead us there or not," Mr Chaiporn said.

"We'll keep searching for other possible entry channels so we can locate them as soon as possible. We remain optimistic and we think there's still a good chance they're alive and well and waiting for us to find them," he added.

He said a major concern is that the amount of oxygen in the chamber would probably be quite limited and they could exhaust it.

Border patrol officers and park officials yesterday found another 1-metre-wide hole leading down into the cave. They tried to abseil into it but ended up dropping food supplies.

Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn ordered provincial police to close traffic routes leading to the cave yesterday to prevent people heading there and possibly obstructing the rescue efforts or putting themselves in jeopardy.

Undeterred by the persistent rainfall in the area, relatives prayed, made merit and consoled one another that their children would be found and come home safely.

Yesterday morning some of the family members performed a ritual, played drums and gongs and held fishing nets as symbols to fish out lost spirits from the cave. Jiratat Kodyee, one of the organisers of the ritual, said it was important to boost morale.

Meanwhile, deputy national police chief Chalermkiat Srivorakhan said police were considering legal action against those who have set up Facebook pages pretending to be the parents of the 12 missing footballers seeking donations.

The Royal Thai Police's Technology Crime Suppression Division has been instructed to investigate the cases, Pol Gen Chalermkiat said.

Songpol Kantawong, 14, one of the missing children's teammates, said he was hopeful his friends would make it back alive.

He told local media the team had held a training session prior to their disappearance at a pitch not far from the cave.

After finishing at around noon, the team decided to visit the cave but he didn't go with them as he had left his bicycle at home.

"We've been playing football together for the last three or four years," he said. "Now there's only three of us left. I can't study right now."

"I hope they all make it back quickly so we can play together as a team," he added.

Another friend of the missing team posted the following message on his Twitter account yesterday: "Class is so quiet without you guys....You'd better make it out. We're all waiting for you."

The post included a photo of a school classroom.

Army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad said he had ordered Mi-17 military transport helicopters to be readied to support the rescue operation. A remotely operated underwater vehicle and two drones with heat detectors have also been deployed.

The submersible will feed data to divers before they head deeper inside the flooded cave, he said.

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