Thai cave rescue: Reports eight boys have emerged from Tham Luang tunnels
FOUR more boys have emerged from the Thai cave where they and their soccer coach have been trapped for two weeks.
CHEERS were heard outside the cave complex in Thailand with reports four more boys have successfully made the dangerous journey from inside the mountain to the surface, bringing the total rescued to eight.
The boys emerged from Tham Luang cave system over a period of just a few hours, with the final two making it to safety within minutes of one another at around 10pm Sydney time.
A team of 12 young footballers and their coach were trapped in a dark, flooded chamber on June 23 and have been imprisoned for more than two weeks in Chiang Rai province, in the country’s mountainous north.
Four boys were extracted on Sunday and four on Monday, and the eight were evacuated to hospital. That leaves just four boys and their 25-year-old coach deep within the tunnels.
With the rescues occurring four at a time, operations at the cave are winding down for the evening.
The fifth boy blinked into daylight at around 4.30pm (7.30pm AEST), with the sixth at around 6pm local time (9pm AEST) and the seventh and eighth in quick succession at 7pm (10pm AEST).
Authorities have yet to comment on the rescues on Monday and have not confirmed any of the freed children’s names.
Nonetheless, those leading the effort have become increasingly upbeat and said the remaining rescues could happen faster than expected. Media were told to expect “good news”.
Progress: Two more boys have left the cave Monday and been sent to a medical facility on site according to an eyewitness who is part of the rescue operations stationed at the entrance of the cave tells CNN.
— Matt Rivers (@MattRiversCNN) July 9, 2018
A total of three boys have been evacuated on Monday.
BREAKING; a sixth boy has now emerged from #thamluangcave - the second rescue for the day - and is being treated on site by medics. The fifth boy was stretchered out at around 445pm and has now arrived at Chiang Rai hospital after being choppered from the cave rescue site.
— amanda hodge (@hodgeamanda) July 9, 2018
The fifth boy was airlifted from #ThamLuang cave to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital in Chiang Rai. #ThaiCaveRescue pic.twitter.com/GxV9Jyg7lt
— Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) July 9, 2018
On Monday evening, news service Reuters reported rescue workers had carried a person on a stretcher away from the cave complex and into a waiting ambulance, according to a witness.
He was the first boy to come out of the cave on the second day of the rescue mission to retrieve the group trapped in the flooded cave after apparently entering for an initiation rite.
The ambulance drove toward a helipad, from where a helicopter took off shortly after to cheers from a crowd, AP reported. The same process was used on Sunday for at least one of the four boys rescued in the first operation.
After a brief rest, the same divers who brought the first four boys to safety went in again.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Narongsak Osottanakorn, former Governor of Chiang Rai province and the head of the joint command centre co-ordinating the operation, said rescue teams re-entered the cave system at 11am local time on Monday (2pm AEST).
Despite the many challenges ahead, and the death of a navy diver days ago, he struck an upbeat note. “I expect in the next hours we will have good news,” he said.
He said he hoped the second phase would be “quicker” than the first operation to extract four boys due to lower water levels.
Mr Narongsak said some of the boys from the Moo Pa Academy soccer squad — which translates as “wild boar” — could emerge mid-evening Sydney time. The boys most up to the challenge of diving in the murky waters would the next to be retrieved.
He said the “water level is not worrisome” even though heavy rains have fallen on the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system.
Thai authorities have also revealed what food the rescued boys craved most once they emerged.
Mr Narongsak said the rescued boys were in good spirits. They were hungry this morning and had requested pad kra pao — a popular dish of spicy basil chicken with rice.
#ThamLuangRescue: At 11am evacuation has resumed. Almost the same set of divers deployed, with some replaced due to conditions. Today we're ready. All equipment is ready. We hope we'll have good news in no time: Mission chief Narongsak https://t.co/iQNTaIihz5 pic.twitter.com/UgvoFBLbwW
— Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) July 9, 2018
Astonishing that Thai authorities have not allowed the parents of the four boys rescued yesterday to meet them. Not clear why. Kids are healthy, says governor Narongsak, and happy. Quarantine? How risky could it be? We understand they have not even seen them through glass
— Jonathan Head (@pakhead) July 9, 2018
"Four boys are okay at the hospital and this morning they already asked for rice with basil" #thamluangcave @sloumarsh
— michael safi (@safimichael) July 9, 2018
But the four are being kept in isolation, and still won’t be able to embrace their parents — the closest they will get is a wave through a glass screen.
“We are considering to let the parents see the boys. Perhaps visiting them outside the (transparent) glass room,” Mr Narongsak was reported as saying.
The perilous third rescue could be even more dangerous after rescuers today woke to gloomy skies as another thunderstorm looms, following a night of heavy monsoonal rains lashing the mountainous region.
There are concerns that rising floodwaters in the cave complex will complicate rescue efforts and affect the evacuation.
Officials said storms forecast for Chiang Rai province in Thailand’s far north had been factored into their decision to go ahead with a complicated and dangerous plan for the boys aged between 11 and 16 and their coach to dive out of the cave.
Five remain underground including coach Ekkapol Chantawong. The second leg of the risky operation was placed on hold on Sunday as air canisters were replenished along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped for almost two weeks. Defibrillators were also put in place in case the rescue should take a bad turn.
#ThamLuang: After a heavy rain last night, dark clouds here at cave complex could mean more rains is imminent. Rains may raise water levels inside caves, which could affect evacuation. Follow our live blog as we bring you latest updates from Chiang Rai https://t.co/MgPRoMPr3P pic.twitter.com/VCxR4KETRn
— Pichayada P. (@PichayadaCNA) July 9, 2018
Thailand’s Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda revealed the same divers who rescued the four boys were conducting subsequent operations because of their knowledge of the terrain. The announcement came after officials met Monday morning to discuss how to get the second group out of the cave.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said lessons from the initial effort would be applied as two more groups of four were brought out of the cave.
“The fact that it took so many hours underscores how precarious this whole mission is,” she said.
Mr Narongsak described the first rescue as “our masterpiece work” and claimed the four rescued boys were in “perfect” health — despite earlier reports that one was being “closely monitored”.
Contrary to initial reports, it’s now believed the weakest boys were selected to come out first, following an assessment by Adelaide cave diver and anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris.
According to CNN, the boys will spend a day or two in isolation, inside a sterilised isolation unit, as a health precaution.
Authorities have so far refused to release the identities or conditions of the four who have escaped.
“Don’t ask these kinds of questions. Not wise questions to ask,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters in Bangkok on Monday morning when asked about the conditions of the four.
FOUR BOYS RESCUED FROM CAVE
The group of boys, who play in a local soccer team called “Wild Boars”, have been stranded in a cramped chamber of the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23.
When British cave diving specialists found them nine days later, they were cold, dishevelled and malnourished, with several suffering from exhaustion. But the arrival of monsoon rains has made it essential to immediately extract them.
In a race against time amid a heavy downpour, experts concluded their original plan to swim the boys out was the best option.
Thirteen divers entered the cave at 10am Sunday local time (1pm AEST) — some heading straight for the trapped group and others taking up stations along the 3km system of flooded chambers.
Ten rescuers headed to the boys in chamber nine, and to the junction at chamber six, while the others went to support positions shortly afterwards.
Each boy was to wear a full scuba mask, wetsuit, boots and a helmet as they were accompanied by two divers through the cave.
They were to be strapped to a “buddy”, the leading diver, by a tether and dragged along.
This diver was to carry two tanks and share oxygen with the boy as the other followed them through the cold, murky water and airless chambers that have already claimed one life.
The foreign divers and five Thai divers entered the caves after an Australian doctor gave the all clear. Locals were required because none of the foreigners speak Thai and communication before and during the dive was key.
Additional rescue personnel, including divers from Thailand, the US, Australia, China and Europe, were stationed between the third chamber and the entrance, where the boys would have to use a rope to traverse challenging terrain.
Before the Thai rescuers went in, they posted a message on the navy’s Facebook page: “We, the Thai Navy SEALS, along with the international diver team, are ready to bring the soccer team home.”
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
Officials said on Sunday night that the extraordinary operation would pause for 10 to 20 hours to assess next steps, check equipment and refill oxygen tanks stationed along the dangerous route. How quickly the remaining boys are moved out will depend on the conditions and water levels inside the cave, which are likely to rise with the rain. The operation could take up to four days to complete and “may stop and start depending on conditions,” Mr Narongsak said.
The governor said officials were “still at war with water and time”, after experts warned him that rain could shrink the dry ledge where the boys are sheltering to just 10 sqm.
“All the plans must not have any holes in them,” he said, noting that “hundreds of people have vetted this” and “there will always be margins for error”.
He said floodwaters had been drained as much as possible, but the rain could increase the risk.
“The plan that I’ve held on to from the beginning is that we have to bring the kids out and the determining factor of this plan is to have as little water as possible.”
He also warned of higher carbon dioxide levels in the cave.
Water levels inside the cave are fluctuating, making it difficult to know for sure how long some of the dives will take.
The death of military diver Saman Kunan on Friday underscored the huge risks the boys face.
Saman was part of a team trying to establish an airline to the chamber where the children were awaiting rescue. He had placed oxygen tanks along the route but didn’t have enough air to get back to safety.
“We lost one man, but we still have faith to carry out our work,” Navy SEAL commander Apakorn vowed.
— with wires
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