The mission to bring the remaining eight boys and their soccer coach out of flooded Luang Cave has officially resumed.
“The rescue has begun,” Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters outside the cave just minutes ago, saying that divers went back in at about 11am Thailand time. He added that while it was the “the same team,” some individual divers had “been replaced because they’re exhausted.”
“Today we’re ready and we’ll work faster,” he added.
When asked how they will select which children are to be extracted next, he said simply: “We base our decision on safety,” and offered no further comment.
Earlier in the brief press conference, he took reporters to task for a series of sins he said had hampered the rescue efforts, including flying drones over the rescue site.
“Flying drones interferes with our mission and is illegal.”
Worse, Pol. Maj. Gen. Churat Pan-ngao, a deputy police chief, said that rescuers’ radio frequencies had been hacked — ostensibly by media outlets hoping to gain an edge in coverage — an act he described as “unforgivable.”
Narongsak also again swatted down media reports — since retracted — that yesterday suggested six boys had safely been brought from the cave.
Yesterday’s mission started at 10am, with the first boy not coming out of the cave until nearly 7 hours later. Four boys were ultimately safely extracted and are currently at Prachanukroh Hospital in the city where they are undergoing tests ahead of being reunited with their families.
Confirming that delay, Narongsak said the boys — who “complained they were hungry and asked for Pad Kaprao” — were being “kept from their families as we fear infections.”
We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
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