The rescue of the XNUMX boys and their coach, who remain trapped in the Tam Luang cave in northern Thailand, can not be done at the moment through their diving, said the head of the crisis management team tonight.
"The children can't dive at the moment," said Narongsak Osotanakorn, who is also the governor of Chiang Rai province. He explained that this method "is not appropriate" at this stage.
Most of the children, aged 11 to 16, do not know how to swim and none of them has ever dived. An experienced frogman takes six hours to get from the entrance of the cave to the place where the group of "Wild Boars" has taken refuge and another five hours to return. The death earlier today of a Thai volunteer, a former member of the special forces, showed how dangerous this route is.
"It's too dangerous to go out swimming," said Rafael Arus, an Israeli volunteer involved in the rescue operation. "Think about it, after a commando was killed, how will a 12-year-old do it?" He added.
Oxygen levels have dropped in the ward where the children are, as Osotanakorn confirmed. A doctor is with the team to monitor their health.
At the same time, rescuers are always looking for access from the top of the hill, a natural well that they could open to reach the cave and get the trapped out.
Rescuers in Thailand consider drilling wells to reach trapped boys
Rescue teams are trying to cross the dense jungle of Thailand, looking for an alternative, vertical passage to pull out the 12 boys and their coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave for almost two weeks.
The crews are working feverishly at the top of the hill above the Tam Luang Cave as meteorologists predict new rainfall in the area, a possibility that threatens the boys' basic rescue plan through the narrow tunnels leading to the entrance.
"We want to find a vertical path. I think we're close, "said Tanes Weirasiri, president of the Indian Institute of Engineering, speaking to Reuters from a makeshift camp for volunteers and journalists near the cave.
Helicopters fly over the dense jungle, on the green hills, in an attempt to locate from the air a possible alternative passage.
The rescue operation, after locating the boys on Monday, is currently focusing on pumping water out of the cave. At the same time, boys are being trained on how to use diving equipment to try to swim out - something that is challenging even for experienced divers and much more for teens, as some of them are only 11 years old and don't even know how to swim. . "I'm very worried ποτέ He's never dived," said Sobun Kaewongan, the father of a 16-year-old boy.
The death of a Thai rescue volunteer, a former frogman, shocked the entire mission. If it starts to rain, trying to pump water will not make sense, forcing the leaders to look for other ways.
Tanes' engineers are working with the military to explore an area they believe is a few hundred meters from the back of the cave and drill soft limestone rocks to get as close as possible to the children. "At first we thought it would be a way to transfer supplies to those trapped in the back of the cave, but now it could be much more important," Tanes said.
A group descended on Thursday to a depth of 300 meters through a well on the hill, until it reached a dead end: the passage was not connected to the cave. About 200 people explore the hill in search of another natural well.
The place where the children have taken refuge is about 4 km from the entrance of the cave and the last 1,7 km of this route is completely under water.
There are fears that by opening a vertical passage, parts of the cave may collapse on the boys or close the passages completely, trapping the means.
Multimillionaire businessman Elon Musk announced via Twitter today that engineers working for his companies are heading to Thailand to help as much as they can. According to Musk, his companies have "advanced georadiologists" suitable for "digging holes".
However, the relatives of the boys, who remain at the entrance of the cave all these days, state that the only thing they want is to find the safest solution for their children.
