Authorities today face a race against time to work out how to free 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand, with imminent new rainstorms threatening to undo all their best efforts to drain water from the cave network.
In addition to the rains, a new urgent threat has emerged in the form of reduced oxygen levels in the chamber where the boys are trapped. The navy SEAL commander leading the operation said today: “We originally thought the boys can stay safe inside the cave for quite some time but circumstances have changed. We have a limited amount of time.”
The dangers involved in getting the boys out of the cave were emphasised overnight when an experienced diver, 38-year-old former navy SEAL Saman Gunan, died after falling unconscious underwater. He is to be given a royal-sponsored funeral.
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FIFA has sent a letter to the president of the Football Association of Thailand offering its “deepest sympathies and support” to the families of young football players and their coach trapped in the cave.
The letter signed, by the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, also said the organisation would like to invite the youngsters and their coach to the World Cup final in Russia, should they be rescued in time and are healthy enough to travel.
The letter said the team’s appearance at the final would “undoubtedly be a wonderful moment of communion and celebration.”
The boys have asked the navy SEALs taking care of them in the cave for details about what has happened in the World Cup since they got trapped on 23 June.
The commander of the Thai navy SEALs working to rescue a youth soccer team trapped in a cave in the country’s north says he believes there is “a limited amount of time” left in which to extract the boys.
“At first we thought that we could sustain the kids’ lives for a long time where they are now, but now, many things have changed. We have a limited amount of time,” Arpakorn Yookongkaew told a news conference.
He did not elaborate. The comments came hours after a former navy SEAL working on the rescue passed out while diving and later died.
A senior army commander, Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam, said the most pressing mission was to provide an oxygen line to reach the children.
Authorities have been racing to pump out water from the cave before more storms hit the region in the coming days and send water levels rising again.
At this time though, the only way for the boys to get out of the cave is by diving, something cave rescue experts warn is extremely dangerous even for those with experience.
Friday’s death of the former Seal underscores those risks. The diver was working in a volunteer capacity and died during an overnight mission in which he was placing oxygen canisters along the route divers must take to get to the children, navy SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew said.
Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures
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Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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Thai rescue teams use headlamps to enter a pitch-black cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, Monday, July 2, 2018. The group was discovered late July 2 after 10 days totally cut off from the outside world, and while they are for the most physically healthy, experts say the ordeal has likely taken a mental toll that could worsen the longer the situation lasts.
AP
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The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
5/25
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
6/25
Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
7/25
The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
8/25
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
9/25
A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
10/25
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
11/25
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
12/25
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
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A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
14/25
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
15/25
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
16/25
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
17/25
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
18/25
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
19/25
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
20/25
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
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General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
22/25
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
23/25
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
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Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
25/25
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
1/25
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
2/25
A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
3/25
Thai rescue teams use headlamps to enter a pitch-black cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, Monday, July 2, 2018. The group was discovered late July 2 after 10 days totally cut off from the outside world, and while they are for the most physically healthy, experts say the ordeal has likely taken a mental toll that could worsen the longer the situation lasts.
AP
4/25
The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
5/25
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
6/25
Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
7/25
The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
8/25
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
9/25
A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
10/25
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
11/25
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
12/25
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
13/25
A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
14/25
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
15/25
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
16/25
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
17/25
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
18/25
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
19/25
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
20/25
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
21/25
General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
22/25
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
23/25
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
24/25
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
25/25
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 strategically placed canisters allow divers to stay under water for longer during what is about a five-hour trip to reach the stranded team.
While underwater, the rescuer passed out and efforts to resuscitate him failed, Mr Arpakorn said.
Another navy official said he did not believe the man’s oxygen tank ran out.
“Despite this, we will continue until we accomplish our mission,” Mr Arpakorn said.
