Divers re-enter cave as Thai rescue restarts | News

Ambulances and rescue crews have returned to the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand for a second operation to free more trapped boys.

Divers at the site told the Guardian on Monday morning they were preparing to re-enter the cave where they spent more than eight hours on Sunday guiding four of the 12 trapped boys to freedom.

Officials later confirmed the operation was under way again from about 11am local time (5am BST).

Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre coordinating the operation said: “The factors are as good as yesterday … The rescue team is the same team with a few replacements.

“The water level is not worrisome … yesterday’s rain did not affect water levels inside the cave.”

The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said in a TV interview on Monday morning she believed the boys would be brought out in groups of four. This would mean at least two more operations.

The same elite divers involved in Sunday’s rescue would conduct the next one, given their knowledge of the cave conditions, Thailand’s interior minister said in a statement.

Anupong Paojinda said officials were meeting on Monday morning about the next stage of the operation and how to extract the remaining eight boys and their football coach from the cave in the country’s north.

The boys who were rescued on Sunday were strong and safe but needed to undergo detailed medical checks, he said.

News of the release of the first four children on Sunday was greeted with elation in Thailand but rescuers say there are still significant risks with a majority of the boys still to undertake the risky 3.2km (2 mile) journey through the jagged, narrow and muddy cave.

Preparations are also under way to manage the mental health of the boys once they are all freed. Students and teachers at Maesaiprasitsart school, attended by many of the children, have been given instructions to avoid “talk that hurts [the boys’] feelings”, said teacher Thongyaud Kejorn.

The boys will not have to sit an exam scheduled for next week, he added. “They will not have to follow the normal schedules.”

Kittichok Kankeaw, a teammate of Nattawut Takamsai, one of the trapped boys, said he would try to assist his friend to catch up at school. “I can help him with his homework,” he said.