Thailand: Official admits big challenges in cave rescue operation
Challenges to the rescue of the 12 young footballers and their coach trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand, exceeded what officials and experts had projected, rescue operation chief Narongsak Osoththanakorn said on July 7.
Divers of the rescue operation in Tham Luang cave (Photo: Thai NavySEAL/Facebook)
Hanoi (VNA) – Challenges to the rescue of the 12young footballers and their coach trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cavein Chiang Rai, Thailand, exceeded what officials and experts had projected,rescue operation chief Narongsak Osoththanakorn said on July 7.
The former Chiang Rai Governor said at a pressconference in front of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave that it had been very hardto find the football team, but it is now even more difficult to bring them outof the cave.
Narongsak Osottanakorn, who was recentlyappointed Governor of Phayao province, said the biggest challenge is seekingsolutions to get them out of the cave because all current plans are facing bigobstacles.
He told reporters earlier the same day that itis "not suitable" to make the boys dive to safety yet. Therewere no plans to pull the boys and their coach out overnight but if monsoonrains fell and water rose in the Tham Luang cave over the coming days, theycould change their plans.
Thailand's Navy SEAL commander earlier saidrescuers may have "limited time" to attempt the tricky job ofgetting the group out, the first official admission waiting out the monsoonperiod in the cave may not be possible.
Meanwhile, rescuers are speeding up the drillingof over 100 shafts into the mountainside in a bid to seek a safer rescuesolution. However, there haven’t been any shafts reaching the team’s location.
Narongsak Osottanakorn said some of the shaftsare as deep as 400 metres but they cannot still find their location yet. Therescue team estimate that the trapped persons are 600 metres down, but themission lacks the technology to pinpoint where they are staying.
On fears that oxygen levels in the cave isdropping, he added rescuers have managed to establish a line to pump infresh air and also withdrawn unessential workers from the cave to preservelevels inside the cave.
The boys – members of the Wild Boars footballteam between the ages 11 and 16 – had been exploring the cave network withtheir soccer coach on June 23, when heavy seasonal rains flooded the cave'sentrance, forcing the group further and further into the labyrinth of tunnelsin search of higher ground.
They were found alive on July 2 after 10 days ofbeing trapped in the flooded cave complex.-VNA
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Ensuring communications with rescuers inside Tham Luang cave pose a challenge in the mission to rescue members of the football team trapped in the flooded cave, along with risks of the upcoming storm, said Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn.
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Divers of the rescue operation in Tham Luang cave (Photo: Thai NavySEAL/Facebook) 
