Thailand cave rescue: looming rain clouds could force quick rescue decision – live

Former Thai Navy SEAL involved in rescue has died

A former Thai Navy SEAL aiding in rescue efforts has died in the tunnel due to a lack of oxygen.

The death was confirmed at the press conference and people have been paying tribute to the diver on Facebook.

A press conference has begun. Officials are updating the gathered press scrum about what’s going on. Our south Asia correspondent Michael Safi is there, we’ll post updates as soon as they’re through.

Updated
at 10.25pm EDT

10.17pm EDT
22:17

As we reported yesterday, some of the group are unwell. Two of the boys and their coach have been diagnosed with malnutrition and exhaustion. This could be a complicating factor in any potential rescue dive, which would be a five hour dive in tricky conditions.

Yesterday, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotthanakor, said they would consider rescuing the boys in stages – taking out those who are strong enough sooner.

10.13pm EDT
22:13

Michael Safi

“We are racing against the rain,” the coordinator of this rescue operation said yesterday.

This morning in Chiang Rai, some of that rain is predicted to arrive. It’s a sign that the window of unseasonable sunshine that authorities have been granted this week is coming to an end, and the 12 boys may soon be cut off for months.

Authorities at the cave site are giving little away, but a stream of rescue workers, divers and soldiers are continuing to arrive and the work of pumping water from the caves is ongoing.

Yesterday the target was an area known as chamber three – still at least two kilometres from the ledge where the boys are sheltering. It is unclear if the team can drain enough water for the boys to walk out – that’s plan A – but at some point today they may decide enough water is gone to risk taking the boys on the five-hour journey to the exit.

But the boys are also safe where they are. If the rains do arrive, authorities might decide keeping them in the cave until the monsoon eases, possibly in October, is preferable to risking a journey in the jagged, muddy cave system where they’ve been stranded the past 13 days.

10.07pm EDT
22:07

Rescuers have been working around the clock to drain the caves, employing hundreds of pumps, in the hope that by reducing the water level the boys will be able to leave the caves without having to attempt a dangerous dive.

Last night the Thai Navy SEALs shared photographs of the teams working to pump out the water, saying they had made it possible to walk between chambers two and three, and that officials would all “work long into the night to get the young footballers home soon”.

9.56pm EDT
21:56

Michael Safi reports that rain clouds above Mae Sai are “much lower and darker” than on previous days.

Monsoon rains, predicted to arrive any day, are a major source of concern for the rescue teams. The governor of the province, who is heading up the search efforts, said they were in a “race against time”. as monsoon rains are predicted this weekend, which could mean the boys are trapped inside the cave and cut off from the entrance – meaning they are cut off from supplies and communication – for up to four months until the end of the monsoon season.

6.37pm EDT
18:37

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the rescue efforts to free the trapped football team and their coach from the Tham Luang caves in northern Thailand.

We are now entering the fourth day since the boys were found in the cave by British divers after a nine-day round-the-clock search. Since they were found on Monday night, officials have been trying to find a safe way to bring the boys, who are trapped 5km into the caves, out to safety.

My colleague Michael Safi is at the cave and will be filing reports as they come in, you can follow him on Twitter here. You can follow me on Twitter here and email me on kate.lyons@theguardian.com with any questions or tips.

Updated
at 10.02pm EDT

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