Rescue divers in northern Thailand are closing in on the area they believe a missing group of young boys and their assistant coach are.
It has been nine days since the 12 boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach went missing after journeying into Tham Luang Cave. The football team – the Wild Boars – had ridden their bicycles to the cave, parking them out front. It was hours before park authorities noticed the bicycles and raised the alarm but the entrance to the cave had already been blocked by a flash flood.
Authorities have had no contact with the Wild Boars but to their knowledge, the team went into the cave with a day’s worth of food.
Almost three kilometres into the cave system, rescuers found hand prints and two abandoned back packs in the mud. Based on this area of the cave, rescuers believe the boys and their coach made their way through a narrow corridor that sharply rises up and down before leading into the cave’s main chamber – an elevated dry area named Pattaya. It is here where rescuers are hopeful the boys and their coach will be found alive.
However, being that it is the monsoon season – heavy rain had filled the cave to its ceiling delaying rescue attempts. Divers have had to blindly swim through the flooded passages in order to try and find the opening to Pattaya.
But come Sunday, the weather cleared and rescuers immediately used water pumping machines to clear the chamber in order to establish a base deep inside the cave.
Rescuers have now advanced 600 metres from that base towards Pattaya.
Pattaya is believed to be several kilometres from the cave’s main entrance.
The football’s team head coach Nopparat Khanthavong told AFP, “I’m feeling happy like I’ve never felt in a long time. Many good signs. The rain has stopped and rescue teams have found potential ways to reroute the waterway.”
“The families are feeling much better too.”
The families of the missing boys are keeping vigil outside the cave alongside Buddhist monks who lead them in prayer.
On Saturday, it was announced six Australian Federal Police and Defence Force personnel had been deployed to Thailand to aid in the search and rescue. The Aussies join British divers, US military, and Chinese rescue experts.
