Rescuers thwarted by ever-rising waters inside a Thai cave where a youth soccer team and their coach are believed to have been trapped for nearly a week received a small measure of hope last night — the rain stopped.
With diving by Thai Navy SEALs temporarily halted due to conditions, water was pumped out of the cave continuously throughout the evening as other rescue units looked for possible alternative entry points into Chiang Rai province’s Luang Khun Nam Nang Non Cave.
In addition to the pumping, teams on the scene began drilling into the ground beneath the cave in hopes of creating another avenue for floodwater to escape and open a path.
Two more drilling machines were added this morning to accomplish that task, reported Post Today.
Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, meanwhile, who led the team all night, said he would not sleep until the 12 teens and their young coach are found — setting a goal of 24 hours until mission success.
Yesterday, thanks to approximately 600 rescuers examining the mountaintop for possible cave entrances, a total of 9 crevasses were found: three turned out to be dead ends, three are difficult-to-access holes that would need to be explored via expert climbers or drones, while the last three’s depth remain undetermined.
At 10am today, the SEALs announced via their official facebook page that another unit will arrive this afternoon. There are now a total of three units on site: the first in charge of draining efforts, a second hiking atop the cave to look for possible entrances, and the incoming third unit, whose responsibilities will be determined when they arrive this afternoon.
A group of British divers who arrived with equipment one rescuer described to Coconuts Bangkok as “far surpassing” that possessed by local teams, meanwhile, made their first dive yesterday afternoon, though the two-hours in the murky water bore no fruit.
With no rain since last night, however, rescuers remain optimistic about today’s outcome.
