Cave rescuers drill in hunt for team

Cave rescuers drill in hunt for team

British experts arrive, US divers en route

Drilling will get under way today to create new passageways for rescue teams to find the 12 young footballers and their 26-year-old coach who are believed to still be trapped in Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai's Mai Sai district.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by rising waters triggered by persistent rainfall, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said yesterday.

He said search teams were combing the hills above the cave in search of other passages. The Energy Ministry has provided cave drilling machines while the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has sent in body heat sensor equipment to support the rescue operations.

All the equipment has now been deployed at the entrance to the cave and is ready for the drilling operation today, Gen Anupong said.

Geologists will be asked to give advice on where to drill, he said.

The sensor equipment will be used to search shafts beneath the hill leading down into the cave. Drilling machines will then be used to bore through the hill's rock surface.

"We need an opening large enough for a man to go down. Authorities will do all they can to save the children and their coach," Gen Anupong said.

Gen Anupong said hopes were high that the children were still safe as they were fit and strong and were familiar with the area and know the cave well.

Anukoon Sorn-ek, a professional cave explorer, said the cave drilling method to be employed today can speed up the rescue mission.

"It will save a lot of time as the use of Seal divers will be too slow because the water's currents in the cave are strong, murky and even muddy," he said.

"In terms of the rescue operation, you need to combine all measures," said Mr Anukoon, who helped explore the cave in 1992, before it was declared a tourism site. Mr Anukoon has surveyed the cave three times.

He said he believed the 12 young footballers and their coach have continued to venture deeper inside the cave to avoid the rising waters caused by persistent rainfall.

"Cave explorers always keep walking inside to get away from rising waters. Since they have not been seen, that probably means they have kept walking," he said.

In terms of the rescue, Mr Anukoon said the biggest challenge is the rising water levels. "Rescue teams need to drain water from the cave first and foremost before a rapid operation can resume."

Maj Gen Chalongchai Chaiyakham, deputy commander of the 3rd Army, said yesterday three ceiling shafts had been found above the cave.

Rescuers and soldiers were able to abseil down through the first shaft which was as deep as 15 metres and reached a dead-end, he said.

The second shaft was 5-7 metres deep and the third shaft was about 90 metres deep.

Food supplies were dropped into the third shaft, Maj Gen Chalongchai said.

He added that Navy Seals had not yet reached the rock chamber dubbed "Pattaya Beach" in the cave as efforts were under way to pump out water from the cave to give them sufficient headroom to operate.

Supreme Commander Thanchaiyan Srisuwan said the United States Pacific Command was sending a team of navy divers and disaster experts to help with the search. They were en route from Hawaii.

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said three professional cave divers from the UK had reached the northern province of Chiang Rai yesterday to support the rescue operation.

Laos has also sent divers and rescue teams to help find the missing team.

Thai Navy Seals wrote on their Facebook pages that high-pressure water pumps were put in place at the cave early yesterday as rescuers continued their efforts to save the footballers and their coach, but were unable to stem the rising floodwater inside the cave.

About 4.45am, a fresh downpour pounded the area, causing flooding in the third chamber deep inside the cave, forcing rescuers to retreat to the second chamber. Water rose by about 15 centimetres an hour.

Rescue teams were working against the clock to drain the cave but more rainwater kept entering

Army chief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisad had also arrived at the rescue site.

A total of 840 soldiers, a team of 90 members of the Lop Buri-based Special Warfare Command, four helicopters, disaster relief equipment, and excavators have been deployed to help with the search.

Maj Gen Bancha Suriyapan, commander of the 37th Army Circle, said helicopters could not be used to survey the area for the time being, as continuous rain meant poor visibility.

Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn yesterday donated 500,000 baht to support rescue efforts and extended moral support to all involved in the operation and her best wishes for the safety of the youngsters and coach.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said resources from all agencies were being used in the search for the missing.

He hoped there would be good news soon and urged people not to be discouraged. Gen Prayut was speaking before chairing the cabinet meeting.

The football team, nicknamed the "Wild Boars", and their coach entered the cave after football practice on Saturday. A mother of one of the players alerted authorities when her son did not come home.

Bicycles, shoes and backpacks belonging to the footballers were found near the cave's entrance.

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