The operation to rescue twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave in Thailand has begun in earnest, according to reports from the Associated Press this afternoon.
BREAKING: Thai governor says operation to bring trapped boys out of cave has begun.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 8, 2018
Addressing media earlier today, Chaing Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said that all those trapped in the cave are now aware of efforts to rescue them and “they’re ready to go out.”
Journalists in the vicinity began to notice heightened activity overnight, with green netting and barricades being erected, and a number of ambulances arriving.
Green netting has gone up outside the cave entrance. Officials near the entrance have all but disappeared. More rain is coming and oxygen is low inside the cave. No official word yet, but it feels different here. A rescue attempt **might** be imminent. Again, nothing confirmed. pic.twitter.com/ap7grvQLiy
— Matt Rivers (@MattRiversABC) July 7, 2018
Reporters were asked to leave the site earlier today and convene at a newly-established media centre several kilometres away in order to give rescuers space to work.
It was noted, however, that a team of eighteen divers, thirteen foreign and five from Thailand, were seen entering the cave system at around 10am local time.
Thai divers arriving at the site. The trend towards imminent rescue attempt continues. Again, not yet confirmed. #ThaiCaveRescue pic.twitter.com/wblrhNBBbc
— Matt Rivers (@MattRiversABC) July 8, 2018
Forecasts for heavy monsoon rain and reports of depleting oxygen levels inside the cave itself have reportedly hastened plans to rescue the boys and their coach.
The soccer team disappeared on June 23 and were later found stranded in a small chamber of the flooded Tham Luang cave complex, capturing the world’s attention and fascination.
Over the past week, attempts have been made to pump water out of the flooded cave system to make a rescue possible, with Osottanakorn noting:
“Now and in the next three or four days, the conditions are perfect (for evacuation) in terms of the water, the weather and the boys’ health. We have to make a clear decision on what we can do.”
Without going into detail about the rescue, he said that “hundreds of people have vetted” the plan to bring the boys to safety, although “there will always be margins for error.”
There will likely be at least 12 hours of radio silence after the divers commence their rescue mission, which means that their prospects of success will not be known until midnight or later, Australian time.
Conditions and water levels may potentially lead to a longer wait, though.
