Rescuers have resumed efforts to locate 12 boys and their soccer coach, who are missing in an extensive cave network in northern Thailand and are feared cut off by rising water levels.

About a dozen Thai navy SEAL divers re-entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reports. Rescue efforts were hampered by extensive flooding in a chamber deep in the cave Monday and were temporarily halted.

The boys, aged between 11 and 15, and their 25-year-old coach are believed to be alive but have been trapped in the cave for three nights. Bicycles, backpacks and soccer kit were found at the entrance of the cave.

“We hope that the water level has gone down but we will have to see,” Navy Lt. Naponwath Homsai said Tuesday. “Today we will try to find passages which are under the water that hopefully will lead to other chambers.”

Here’s what to know:

A group of 12 boys and their soccer coach are thought to have entered a cave in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province on Saturday afternoon, the Associated Press reports. After one of the boys did not return from soccer practice, his mother alerted the authorities, prompting the search effort.

 



According to rescue officials, heavy rain this week has caused parts of the cave to fill with as much as 5m (16 ft.) of water. Police found footprints and handprints inside the complex, and other hikers cut off by floodwaters have been rescued from safe, higher ground inside the cave in the past, authorities said. “We’re confident that the kids should still be in good condition,” Chiang Rai Deputy Governor Passakorn Bunyalak said Monday.

Venturing deeper into the cave will add more challenges to the rescue effort. Divers might need to teach the trapped boys basic scuba skills and bring them food supplies, or the boys may have to wait until the flood waters recede, Passakorn said.

Where are they?

The boys and their coach, members of the Moo Paa (Wild Boar) Academy football club, are believed to be trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave, a 6-8 km (4-5 mi) long cavern that is comprised of large chambers connected by narrower passageways. The cave is a tourist attraction that’s located close to the Myanmar border. According to a guidebook on the region’s caves, Tham Luang Nang Non is only passable between November and June due to flooding during Thailand’s rainy season.

After rescuers were forced to pause Monday due to flooding, efforts resumed early Tuesday, with a team of Thai navy SEALS and other rescuers re-entering the partly-flooded cave. Before efforts were halted Monday, search teams found bags and shoes in a second chamber behind the cave entrance, raising hopes that the team is deeper yet in the complex. Overnight, electricians installed a power line 1 km (.6 mi) into the cave to support the divers with electric lights and fans Tuesday. Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osottanakorn said the line would also allow them to install engines to pump out some of the floodwater. Family and supporters have gathered outside the cave for the past three days, waiting for news and holding prayer sessions. Some performed a traditional ritual Tuesday morning to call for those who are missing. “I haven’t slept and I hope that all of them can come out, all safe and sound,” said Namhom Boonpiam, whose 13-year-old son Mongkol is missing. “My son is a strong boy. I still have hope.” </s> Thai officers supervise the rescue mission inside Tham Luang Nang Non cave on in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Rescuers battle heavy rain in northern Thailand as they continued the search for 12 boys and their soccer coach who have been missing in Tham Luang Nang Non cave since Saturday night after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance.

A Thai youth soccer team and its coach have been found alive in a vast, flooded cave complex where they disappeared more than a week ago, the regional governor said Monday.

“We found them safe," Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said late Monday. "But the operation isn’t over."

Osatanakorn said they were found in the area near the so-called Pattaya Beach, an elevated rock mound sometimes used by cavers when water floods the caves. He said the rescue was underway and that their conditions were being evaluated.

Twelve players, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach had been stranded for 10 days in the Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand's rugged, mountainous Chiang Rai province.

"Thai Navy seals have found all 13 with signs of life," the governor told The Bangkok Post. "We found all 13 safe... we will take care of them until they can move."

More: US rescue team aids desperate search for Thailand soccer team

More: 'We must find the children today': Desperate cave search underway

The U.S. Pacific Command sent a 30-person rescue team to northern Thailand to aid the desperate search, which began when a mother reported her son had not returned from soccer practice. The group had not been heard from since they disappeared June 23.

Thai military and local first-responders also assited in the effort, along with military helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles and drones equipped with heat detectors.

Families of the missing joined by Buddhist monks had been conducting a vigil outside the cave entrance and the team's bikes and soccer gear remained strewn in the area. </s> BANGKOK: A dramatic underwater rescue mission to find a children´s football team who have been trapped in a flooded cave for two days was under way in northern Thailand, officials said Monday.

Divers have reached a large chamber of the vast cave inside which the 12 boys and their coach are believed to be stuck, said the deputy governor of Chiang Rai province.

"We think they are in this part of the cave, which continues for another three kilometres," Pasakorn Boonyalug said. "They haven´t eaten anything since Saturday, so we have brought them food and drink," he added.

The children aged between 11 and 16 entered Tham Luang cave, in a national park near the Myanmar and Laos borders, with their coach on Saturday. One of their mothers raised the alarm when her son did not return from football training that evening. </s> Thai officers supervise the rescue mission inside Tham Luang Nang Non cave on in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Rescuers battle heavy rain in northern Thailand as they continued the search for 12 boys and their soccer coach who have been missing in Tham Luang Nang Non cave since Saturday night after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance.

A Thai youth soccer team and its coach were found alive Monday in a vast, flooded cave complex where they disappeared more than a week ago.

“We found them safe," Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said. "But the operation isn’t over."

It was not immediately clear when the group would be removed from the cave. Osatanakorn said the rescue was underway and conditions of the players were being evaluated.

Photos sent from the forward rescue team showed some of the boys smiling for the camera, fueling optimism for their ecstatic family members awaiting word outside the cave, the Bangkok Post reported.

The desperate search drew worldwide attention, and hundreds of rescuers worked around the clock combatting heavy rains and flooding that slowed the effort. Massive pumps cleared water out of sections of cave, allowing rescuers to drill deep into a network of tunnels.

The players, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach had been stranded since June 23 in the Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand's rugged, mountainous Chiang Rai province.

"Thai Navy SEALs have found all 13 with signs of life," the governor said. "We will take care of them until they can move."

More: US rescue team aids desperate search for Thailand soccer team

More: 'We must find the children today': Desperate cave search underway

They were found in a chamber containing the so-called Pattaya Beach, an elevated rock mound sometimes used by cavers when water floods the caves, Osatanakorn said.

Earlier Monday, Thai authorities announced searchers had closed to within less than 600 yards of the mound and were widening the narrow, twisting route with drills so they could pass through with their gear.

Last week, the U.S. Pacific Command sent a 30-person rescue team to northern Thailand to aid the desperate search, which began when a mother reported her son had not returned from soccer practice. The soccer team had not been heard from since.

Teams from Britain, China, Australia and other countries also joined the effort. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued a statement of thanks to "all international units that have come to assist the Thai authorities in rescuing the youth football team. ... The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and cooperation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery.”

Thai military and local first-responders led the effort, backed by with military helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles and drones equipped with heat detectors.

Families of the missing joined by Buddhist monks had been conducting a vigil outside the cave entrance and the team's bikes and soccer gear remained strewn in the area. </s> Efforts to rescue 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a cave in Thailand are being hampered by heavy rainfall.

Muddy water rising to the ceiling of one of the chambers has prevented divers from progressing farther into the cave to where they think the young footballers and their coach, who went missing on Saturday, may be sheltering.

There has been no contact with the group since they entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province.

At the entrance to the cave, officials were bringing in large water hoses and more water pumps. Navy divers who have been working their way through the complex said that water levels were rising in some places at a rate of 15 centimeters per hour early on Wednesday.

Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said: "We tried to pump the water (out of the chamber) but the water keeps rising. That means the water that comes in with the rain is still much more than what we can pump out. So we need to pump the water faster."

He said teams continued to look for another way in to the blocked portions of the cave by searching for any shafts that might be accessible on the surface of the mountain, under which the cave sits.

Two fissures were found on Tuesday but proved to be dead ends. The rescuers were exploring another one found on Wednesday morning.

Despite setbacks, officials remained publicly optimistic about the prospects for a successful rescue.

"We still have hope. All agencies are trying their best. We have a challenge from the water level that keep rising," Thai army chief General Chalermchai Sittisart told reporters at the site. "We are adding more pumps to lower the level down so that the Seal team could operate better."

He added that all agencies were working hard, "rotating 24 hours so that we can have a success in this operation".

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda told reporters earlier that the divers could proceed only when enough water is pumped out so there is space between the water and the ceiling to make it safer to work. The divers will also soon start using special oxygen tanks that provide longer diving times, he said.

A diver said the water is so murky that even with lights they cannot see where they are going underwater, so they need to be able to lift their heads above the water.

The boys aged 11-16 have been missing since their 25-year-old coach took them to the cave complex on Saturday after a practice match.

Authorities have said footprints and handprints were found inside the cave complex, as well as other items thought to belong to the boys. They noted that tourists trapped there by past floods have been rescued after the waters receded.

The cave, cut into a mountainside near the border with Burma, can flood severely during the rainy season, which runs from June to October. </s> BANGKOK - Search and rescue teams in Thailand were looking on Monday for 13 members of an under-16 football team trapped in a flooded cave complex deep inside a mountain.

The boys' bicycles and football boots were found at the mouth of the Tham Luang caves, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, after they went missing late on Saturday.

They were believed to have been trapped by rising waters inside the cave network when heavy rain hit.

Members of a navy "seal" unit including a team of divers, are searching the cave system.

"The team went down to a depth of 5 meters (16 feet) and found a large chamber ... but we've found no trace of the children," the navy unit said on its Facebook page.

A navy commander overseeing the search said he was hopeful the 12 twelve boys and their 20-year-old coach would be rescued.

"I believe they're all still alive but they might be exhausted ... we should get good news today," Rear Admiral Arparkorn Yookongkaew told Reuters.

People wanting to explore the cave are meant to get permission. Thailand is in the middle of its rainy season when caves can flood. </s> BANGKOK: A dramatic underwater rescue mission to find a children’s football team who have been trapped in a flooded cave for two days was underway in northern Thailand, officials said Monday.

Divers have reached a large chamber of the vast cave inside which the 12 boys and their coach are believed to be stuck, said the deputy governor of Chiang Rai province.

“We think they are in this part of the cave, which continues for another three kilometres (two miles),” Pasakorn Boonyalug said.

“They haven’t eaten anything since Saturday, so we have brought them food and drink,” he added.

The children aged between 11 and 16 entered Tham Luang cave, in a national park near the Myanmar and Laos borders, with their coach on Saturday.

One of their mothers raised the alarm when her son did not return from football training that evening.

Heavy monsoon rains have hit the region in recent days, causing the cave to rapidly fill with water, and bicycles and shoes belonging to the boys were found soon afterwards at the cave’s entrance.

The rescue operation started on Saturday night but was suspended overnight, during which time water levels inside the cave rose dramatically, requiring divers to pass through muddy and flooded sections of the cave.

Diving equipment has been prepared to facilitate the children’s evacuation, Pasakorn said.—AFP </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Navy divers have been sent in to help look for the missing teenagers

Thailand's deputy PM has said he is optimistic a group of young footballers trapped inside a cave are still alive, as the search enters a third day.

The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their coach entered the cave in Chiang Rai province on Saturday.

Navy divers resumed their efforts on Tuesday after rising waters had halted the search.

They had reportedly seen fresh footprints inside the cave complex, raising hopes for the group's safety.

"We are still optimistic they are all alive," Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Tuesday.

"Even though they may not have anything to eat, they should have water to drink."

Image copyright EPA Image caption The cave in northern Thailand extends for more than 6km (3.7 miles) underground

The Tham Luang Nang Non cave is a tourist attraction which runs for many kilometres underground.

The boys and their 25-year-old coach are thought to be in a chamber of the extensive cave network.

Desperate relatives have been camping out at the cave, which lies near the border with Myanmar, holding a prayer ceremony for their safe return.

"My child, I'm here to get you now," one crying parent said, according to AFP.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption There is real concern for the footballers and their coach

'Families praying'

Jonathan Head, BBC News, Tham Luang

Navy divers have been trying to reach the deepest caverns, and turning the area around the caves into a sea of mud. Weary, rain-soaked rescuers can be seen coming to and from the cave entrance, where medical teams are waiting, in the hope that the missing boys may be found.

Family members pray around makeshift shrines.

They have brought in pumps to try to reduce the water level, but so far have only been able to use them outside the caves, where their efforts are being thwarted by the rain. They are now reeling power cables into the caves to help the divers with better light, and to use the pumps there. They have also tried using drones.

So far the only sign of the missing boys is the bicycles they left, which are still locked to the fence at the cave entrance, and some handprints spotted by divers who reached one of the largest underground chambers on Monday.

How was the team trapped?

The team and their coach are believed to have entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on Saturday afternoon.

Rescue workers began searching for them on Saturday night after they were reported missing. The search was briefly halted but navy divers were able to re-enter the cave early Tuesday.

Large squads of soldiers have been brought in to see if they can get access from the hills above the caves.

There are also dozens of volunteers with more experience of cave diving and exploration.

According to the Bangkok Post, visitors must cross a small stream to enter the cave, making it inaccessible if the stream floods.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Search efforts have been hindered by lack of visibility inside the cave

The cave can flood up to 5m (16ft) during Thailand's rainy season, which runs from June to October.

Rescue teams were preparing to train the team to use scuba gear, in case they had to dive out through areas of the cave which were completely submerged, according to local officials. </s> The boys and their soccer coach were located nine days after first entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex, Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn, said Monday night local time.

The governor said rescue teams will send doctors and food to help them and that rescue teams still need to pump more water out of the cave and work on bringing them out.

"We found them safe. But the operation isn't over," the governor said, according to the Associated Press.

The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their coach had been stuck in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave following a soccer game and near-constant rains since then have thwarted the search for them, according to the AP. The incident most probably caused by jerry-rigged electrical lines fed into the caverns to power lights and pumps, according to the AP.

The rescue mission had been hampered late last week after at least three rescuers near the efforts of the cave complex appeared to suffer electric shocks, according to The Associated Press.

Ambulances quickly arrived and witnesses saw three men being carried to them on stretchers. Police said their injuries were minor and the men were in stable condition, the AP reported.
Navy divers attempting to rescue a children's football team and their adult coach after they became trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on Saturday resume searching after rising waters earlier hampered efforts. They report finding fresh footprints in the cave.