Thai cave rescue: Some boys ‘not strong enough to make dive’

At least three boys are too weak to attempt the dangerous dive out. If the rescue begins today, they are likely to be left behind.

Thai divers carry supplies as rescue operations continue for 12 boys and their coach trapped at Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai. Picture: AFP

At least three of the group trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand are still too weak to attempt the dangerous dive out, a medical assessment of the young Thai footballers has concluded.

If the rescue begins today, two or three of the 12 children, and the coach, are likely to be left behind because they need more time to ­recover, The Australian has been told.

A senior military official involved in the planning and assessment for the mammoth operation said late last night that rescuers were aware they were running out of time to evacuate the boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach.

“The critical time is 48 hours from now,” he said, referring to weather forecasts predicting heavy rain and thunderstorms by Sunday, adding rescuers hoped to take at least some of the group out before then.

But, he conceded, it might not be possible to evacuate all 13 before Sunday, because the coach and “two or three boys” were weak from malnutrition after not eating for nine days, raising questions over whether at least some of the group may end up spending considerably longer underground.

With water levels continuing to recede at an average rate of 1cm an hour, conditions over the next two days were likely to be as good as they were going to get for the risky rescue mission.

While hundreds of military scouts scoured the mountaintop a kilometre above where the young footballers have been trapped for 13 days, searching for alternative exit routes, the team has spent the past two days learning how to dive — and swim — to prepare for a perilous ­evacuation.

For each boy to traverse just the first 1.5km-2km stretch of the mostly submerged cave corridor— with the aid of guide ropes and a Thai navy SEAL chaperone — could take up to eight hours.

Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osoththanakorn said around-the-clock pumping since June 30 had removed more than 130 ­million litres of water from the cave and levels were now dropping at a rate of 1cm an hour after receding more than 40cm in some sections overnight on Wednesday.

But while the first 1500m of the cave — to what is known as the third chamber — was now walkable, the boys were still being prepared for the difficult task of diving out of a pitch dark cave through narrow passages.

“The students have been learning how to dive for a day and a half,” Mr Narongsak said yesterday. “It depends on the diving trainer whether they’re ready or not. It’s not important to bring all 13 out of the cave at the same time. The strongest and most prepared should come out first.

“We worry about the weather the most. In the past few days we worked against time. But now we are working against water.”

Thunderstorms and heavy downpours predicted for Sunday would quickly re-fill the cave, forcing rescuers to evacuate. Mr Narongsak said rescuers were discussing the “acceptable” level of risk before they would need to evacuate in the event of downpours, but even if the cave re-flooded SEALs would still be able to reach the boys.

Several weeks of supplies — food, water, medicine and insulation blankets — have now been ferried to the sloping shelf where the team have been sheltering since June 23 with the help of an international diving team which includes six Australian Federal Police specialist response group divers. Three more Australian specialists were flown in yesterday.

Authorities say they would like to see water levels drop further in the stretch between the third chamber and where the boys are to stage an effective rescue, but are also weighing the risks of forging ahead against those of waiting.

Asked about the dive yesterday, AFP diver Matt Fitzgerald said: “The cave is quite challenging obviously. There is zero visibility, it’s a confined space so it’s a challenge. It would be terrifying but the children know the cave, they have been in there very often.”

Thai Navy SEALs had planned to start bringing the boys out of the cave yesterday but were delayed by efforts to dam a water course at the southern end of the cave. With that completed mid-morning, engineers were attempting to drain enough water from the first corridor the boys must navigate to try to create a continuous air pocket.

Poonsak Woongsatngiem, a senior official with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said yesterday more electricity cables were being brought into power as many as 20 pumps inside the cave.

“The water level between the third chamber and the point the students are at is still high and we have put the tubes at the third chamber trying to get the water out as much as possible,” he said.

But 20 to 30 teams were now also looking for the “right co­ordinates on the mountain in case there is a point where we can pull the boys out of the cave”.