Rescuers prepare dive gear at the entrance of a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped inside in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. The... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rescuers prepare dive gear at the entrance of a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped inside in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. The Thai soccer teammates stranded more than a week in a partly flooded cave said they were healthy on... (Associated Press) 
 
 MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — With more rain coming, Thai rescuers are racing against time to pump out water from a flooded cave before they can extract 12 boys and their soccer coach with minimum risk, officials said Thursday. 
 
 A firefighter who has been working on draining the water said that levels in parts of a passage leading to a chamber where the boys and the coach were found on Monday after missing for 10 days was still flooded all the way to the ceiling, making diving the only way out. 
 
 "What we worry most is the weather," Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn told reporters. "We can't risk having the flood back into the cave." 
 
 He said he asked Thai navy SEALs in charge of extraction plans to estimate what sort of a risk would be involved to take them out and "what kind of readiness we can have today and decide if we can take that chance." He said that not all 13 may be extracted at the same time depending on their condition. He said earlier that the boys have been practicing wearing diving masks and breathing, but he doesn't believe they have attempted any practice dives. 
 
 "This morning, I have asked for 13 sets of (diving) equipment to be prepared and checked the equipment lists and place them inside (the cave) in case we have to bring them out in this condition with less than 100 percent readiness," he said. 
 
 Officials have said they prefer to get the boys out as soon as possible because heavy rain is expected to start by Saturday, which almost surely will raise water levels again in the cave, making passage in some areas even more difficult if not impossible. 
 
 They are hoping that an upgraded draining effort can lower the water level in an area where it is still at the ceiling or just about. The idea is to get some headroom so the boys would not be reliant on scuba apparatus for a long stretch and could keep their heads above water. 
 
 The boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach disappeared after they went exploring in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the northern province after a soccer game June 23. 
 
 Authorities said the boys, who appeared skinny but in good health in several videos released by the Thai navy, were being looked after by seven members of the Thai SEALs, including medics, who were staying with them inside the cave. They were mostly in stable condition and have received high-protein drinks. 
 
 In all of the videos, the boys appeared in good spirits. In the most recent video, a navy SEAL is shown treating minor cuts on the feet and legs of the boys with antibiotic ointment. Several of the boys are seen smiling as they interact with the navy SEAL, who cracks jokes. 
 
 Seeing the boys has boosted the mood of their family members, and officials are working to install an internet cable to the cave so that parents can talk to their children. 
 
 Kian Kamluang, whose 16-year-old son, Pornchai, is in the cave, said she had thought there was a 50 percent chance that her son would be found. 
 
 "It's like he has been given a new life," she said, adding that she'll never let her son go into a cave or near water again. 
 
 While efforts to pump out floodwaters are continuing, some Thai officials have indicated that heavy rains forecast for this weekend could force them to decide the boys should swim and dive out using the same complicated route of narrow passageways through which their rescuers entered. 
 
 Authorities said they were still exploring other options, such as scouring the mountainside for other ways into the cave and finding faster ways to pump water from the cave. 
 
 Cave rescue experts have said it could be safest to simply supply the boys where they are for now, and wait for the water to go down. That could take months, however, given that Thailand's rainy season typically lasts through October. 
 
 Experienced divers are wary of taking out the boys through the dark and dangerous waters still in the cave, especially since they are untrained. 
 
 "We are talking kilometers of transport under the water with zero visibility," said Claus Rasmusen, a certified cave diving instructor based in Thailand who has been helping Thai SEAL team with logistics. "It's difficult." 
 
 He said it was awkward, but possible, to teach them minimal skills. 
 
 "Nobody will teach anyone a full cave course, but trying to get them comfortable with masks, with the breathing, (is) completely different," he said. "Creating an environment that can make them safely get away, that's feasible." ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Rescue workers are concerned about what might happen when monsoon rains hit 
 
 Rescuers are racing against the rains to free 12 boys and their football coach, who are trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand. 
 
 A deluge is expected to hit in a matter of days that could force the water level up, threatening to flood the pocket where the group took refuge. 
 
 The teenage boys and their 25-year-old coach have been trapped for 12 days. 
 
 They were found on Monday night by rescue divers, on a rock shelf about 4km (2.5 miles) from the cave mouth. 
 
 The boys have now received food, foil blankets, and medical attention, and rescuers are trying to run cables through the cave tunnel so they can speak to their families. 
 
 When are the rains coming? 
 
 The region of Chiang Rai where the boys are trapped has for the past few days experienced a dry spell, and rescuers have taken advantage of this to pump water out of the cave complex. 
 
 About 128 million litres of water had been pumped out by Thursday, with the water levels coming down at an average rate of 1.5cm per hour. Rescue workers are now able to walk through a 1.5km (0.9 mile) stretch from the entrance to what's being called the third chamber. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Water is being pumped out of the cave complex around the clock 
 
 But heavy monsoon rains are forecast for Sunday. Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said they were "racing against water". 
 
 "We are calculating how much time we have it if rains, how many hours and days," he said. 
 
 The Tham Luang cave complex is regularly flooded during the rainy season until September or October, raising fears that a delay could leave the boys trapped in the cave for months. 
 
 What is being done to rescue the boys? 
 
 There is hope that enough water can be pumped out of the cave tunnels for the boys to be able to wade - or be floated - out. 
 
 But rescuers are also planning for other eventualities. 
 
 A team are exploring the forested mountain land above the cave complex to see if they can find a chimney down to the cavern sheltering the boys. They have enlisted the help of bird-watchers, who are specialists in finding hidden holes, the AFP news agency reports. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Whitehouse from the British Cave Rescue Council explains how the boys and their coach might be rescued 
 
 Thai Navy Seal divers are also teaching the boys the basics of diving, with a view to guiding them out through flooded waters if necessary. 
 
 But such a rescue would be fraught with risk, say experts. Many of the boys cannot swim or dive, and there is a high risk they might panic in the dark, murky, narrow waterways. 
 
 The journey for the group to travel up to the cave entrance would take around five hours, rescue divers say. 
 
 The Thai military has previously said that if the boys can't dive out, the group may have to wait for up to four months for flooding to recede before they can leave. 
 
 Food and other supplies are being put in place for that eventuality. 
 
 'The boys are my brothers' 
 
 Helier Cheung, BBC News, Tham Luang cave 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Teams of volunteers are each playing their part in the rescue effort 
 
 Rescue teams are working in extremely difficult conditions. The heat has been sweltering and unrelenting, at over 30C, while much of the site is submerged in squelchy mud that is several inches thick in places and extremely slippery. 
 
 But the work has continued at an unrelenting pace. Everyone is aware that once the monsoon rains start, rescue efforts will be much more difficult. 
 
 Meanwhile, hundreds of workers are helping to keep the site in order, with road engineers laying gravel to try and secure the mud, workers for the Thai royal kitchen providing hot food for everyone, and volunteers handing out water bottles and ice lollies to those on site. 
 
 One local civil servant, who had volunteered to help hand out supplies, said he did not know the boys personally but had decided to help because "I consider the boys in the caves as my brothers". 
 
 How are the boys coping? 
 
 Video from Thai Navy special forces on Monday showed the boys looking emaciated but smiling and at times laughing. 
 
 The arrival of food, foil blankets and the prospect of speaking to their loved ones will have buoyed their spirits. 
 
 But concern is mounting for both their physical and mental health after 12 days below ground - and it is not clear how they would be helped to survive months more in the cave. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chilean miner sends message to Thai boys 
 
 The boys and their coach had gone on their bikes up to the caves on Saturday 23 June after football practice. It was one boy's 16th birthday, and the team had taken a picnic. 
 
 They knew the caves, and some reports suggest they had wanted to explore deeper than on previous occasions. 
 
 They entered the cave when it was dry but sudden heavy rains quickly flooded the exit and rushed through the narrow passages, clogging them with mud and debris. ||||| Hundreds of pumps clearing water along 4km path in hope of avoiding need for scuba gear 
 
 Thai rescuers say 12 boys trapped deep inside a cave complex may be able to walk out, provided the route can be drained before the monsoon showers predicted for the weekend. 
 
 A military operation in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex is employing hundreds of industrial pumps to drain the water along the 2.5-mile (4km) path from the entrance to the area where the children and their football coach have been sheltering for 12 days. 
 
 Poonsak Woongsatngiem, a rescue official with Thailand’s interior ministry, told the Guardian the water had been reduced by 40% in the past few days, clearing a 1.5km stretch of dark, jagged and muddy cave channels that the boys would need to traverse. 
 
 The focus of Thursday’s operations is a third major basin along the route, Woongsatngiem said. The boys, who are not strong swimmers, are being trained in how to dive using scuba equipment. But forcing them to exit through the water is considered very risky. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Soldiers and rescue workers walk past water pumped out of the cave complex. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters 
 
 “We [are] target[ing] the water in the third chamber to reduce to the point that no diving equipment is needed, like to the waistline, so one can wear just life jackets and walk out,” Woongsatngiem said on Thursday. 
 
 Clearing the third basin would leave another 2.5km of path to the boys, whose ages range from 11 to 16. A Chinese diver at the site, Wang Ying Jie, said about half that remaining path would be walkable in the right conditions; the maximum water depth they would need to cross is about six metres. 
 
 It is unclear how long the remaining area would take to drain, but monsoon rains are predicted for Saturday and would quickly refill the cave complex, potentially cutting the boys off for months. 
 
 Rain was the biggest worry, said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai province, who is coordinating the rescue efforts. “We were racing against time before we found them,” he said. “Now we’re racing against water. It keeps seeping through the cave.” 
 
 A fibre-optic cable was being laid inside the cave and would reach the boys soon, he added, so the children would be able to speak to and possibly see their parents on video. 
 
 
 
 Wang said most of the boys remained in good health but three had intestinal issues and were in some pain. Divers were positioned at the third basin waiting to ferry medicine to the children. 
 
 With wet weather looming, authorities are also calculating how long they are willing to allow rescuers to remain in the cave before they order an evacuation. 
 
 Updates on the condition of the boys and the water levels were being slowed by the length of the journey to reach the children. “It’s about 11 hours – six on the way from the entrance to where the kids are and five on the way back,” he said. 
 
 Play Video 1:00 Chilean miner has message of hope for trapped Thai boys – video 
 
 He said the boys and their 25-year-old coach had started practising diving but did not confirm whether they would try to bring any out on Thursday. Those considered strong enough to go could do so first, he said. “They don’t need to be brought out as a team,” Osatanakorn said. “Whosoever is ready can come out first.” 
 
 
 
 Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued? Read more 
 
 Officials were also scouring the jungle above the complex to find new openings that could be drilled to extract the boys more easily. The children were breathing, he said, so there was very likely a shaft somewhere to the top. 
 
 “We have around 20 to 30 teams surveying on top to find the closest and most precise spot,” he said. 
 
 One Thai navy Seal member who spent time with the boys said they “were always asking about the World Cup. I told them that all the big teams had gone home.” 
 
 Additional reporting by Veena Thoopkrajae in Mae Sai and the Associated Press
– The weekend weather forecast has provided an ominous deadline for rescuers scrambling to get 12 young soccer players and their coach out of a flooded cave in northern Thailand. The area has been dry for days but heavy rains are expected to hit soon, potentially driving water levels up, thwarting rescue efforts, or even flooding the dry spot the boys fled to after heavy rains cut them off from the cave system's exit on June 23, the BBC reports. "We are racing against time before we found them," Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said early Thursday. "Now we are racing against water." Experts believe waiting for the waters to recede could be the safest option, but that could take months. The boys are getting diving lessons and unless efforts to find a shaft in the jungle above the cave succeed, rescuers are expected to try to get the boys out within days, starting with those best able to make the difficult journey through narrow tunnels. The military has been running hundreds of pumps in an effort to lower the water level enough for the boys to simply walk out, though one major chamber remains flooded to the ceiling, the Guardian reports. Rescuers are also trying to install an Internet cable so the boys can communicate with their parents. "It's like he has been given a new life," the mother of a 16-year-old in the cave tells the AP. She says if he makes it out, she will never let him go near a cave again.