The 12 Thai footballers who have been found alive deep in a cave may have ventured in as part of an initiation, one of the divers who helped locate them has said.
The boys, aged 11 – 16, reportedly went into the Luang Nang Non Cave with their 25-year-old coach in an effort to write their names on the walls.
They were “wading in and trying to go to the end of the tunnel, sort of like an initiation for local young boys to… write your name on the wall and make it back,” Ben Reymenants told Sky News.
Video shows moment missing boys and coach found by diver
But after a flash flood caused by heavy rain they were locked into the cave system.
Mr Rymenants added that the boys appeared mentally fit and were in a stable condition, but had become weak after 10 days without food.
They survived by drinking water from the walls of the cave and had eaten nothing until rescuers reached them. They had only one torch between them, but the battery had run flat.
The leading means of bringing the trapped boys out of the cave is by teaching them to scuba dive. This could take a considerable length of time, as none of them are able to swim.
In addition, some areas of the flooded caves are only wide enough to allow one diver to pass through them at a time.
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex where a group of 12 boys and their football coach have been missing since 23 June
AP
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
The 12 boys and their coach are from an under-16 football team, they went missing on 23 June and were found on 2 July following work by an international rescue team. The rescue is still ongoing, with it being unknown how long it will be before the boys emerge
REUTERS
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
Rescue workers prepare oxygen tanks for the rescue mission. It is thought that the boys may have to be taught how to dive in order to escape the cave.
EPA
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex where a group of 12 boys and their football coach have been missing since 23 June
AP
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
The 12 boys and their coach are from an under-16 football team, they went missing on 23 June and were found on 2 July following work by an international rescue team. The rescue is still ongoing, with it being unknown how long it will be before the boys emerge
REUTERS
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
Rescue workers prepare oxygen tanks for the rescue mission. It is thought that the boys may have to be taught how to dive in order to escape the cave.
EPA
The Thai authorities have appealed for donations for full-face scuba diving masks which are easier for beginners to use than normal air regulators which fit into the mouth.