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A Thai official overseeing the rescue operation of a soccer team trapped in a flooded cave said the 12 boys and their coach may not all be extracted at the same time depending on their health.
“All 13 may not come out at the same time. If the condition is right and if that person is ready 100 percent, he can come out,” said Chiang Rai provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn on Wednesday. “If the condition is right and if that person is ready 100%, he can come out.”
Narongsak said that the boys have been practicing wearing diving masks and breathing, but he doesn’t believe they have attempted any practice dives.
The window to remove the boys before the monsoon rains hit is rapidly closing as monsoon rains are predicted to arrive on Saturday.
Twelve days since a dozen boys and their football coach wandered into a northern Thailand cave, authorities are still fighting the water to get them out.
Hundreds of pumps are gushing water into the surrounding areas in a bid to make the caves safe enough to remove the boys.
Clouds are still present above the site, a reminder of the urgency of beginning a rescue attempt.
A novel idea is being floated around the site this morning: the possibility of inserting a tiny capsule into the cave, in which the boys can be placed one by one and guided the approximately 4km journey from their cavern to the cave’s entrance.
It is unclear how realistic that option is or whether Thailand has the equipment immediately available to do so. We hope to find out more at the governor’s daily briefing later this morning.
For a full guide to where the boys are and other plans of how they might be rescued we have this visual guide.