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Thailand cave rescue: Divers search murky waters as search to find
missing boys steps up
12:09pm 30th June 2018
(Updated 4:42pm 30th June 2018)

Divers are searching the murky waters of a cave in Thailand as the
rescue operation steps up to find 12 young boys and their football
coach, who have been trapped for a week.
Heavy rain has hampered the operation at the Tham Luang cave
complex in Chiang Rai province, causing flooding which has stopped
rescuers getting through chambers to get deeper into the cave.
But on Saturday the rain eased and divers from the Thai navy's elite
SEAL unit were able to make progress through the murky waters filling passages of the six-mile underground maze.
Deputy Police Chief Wirachai Songmetta said the search party has not yet been unable to reach the underground
chamber where the boys may be.
Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said: "The situation is better today than yesterday and the day
before.
"Water has receded considerably and we are pumping out water in all chambers (near the entrance)."
Apart from bicycles and football boots le near the cave's entrance, and hand prints seen on the walls, the
searchers have found no trace of the boys, aged between 11 and 16, or their 25-year-old assistant coach.
But rescuers believe they have a chance of surviving and may have access to fresh water inside the cave, either
dripping through rocks or rushing in through the entrance.
However, run-o water from nearby farms could carry dangerous chemicals and bacteria.
Anmar Mirza, coordinator of the US National Cave Rescue Commission, said: "If they drink the water in the caves
and it makes them sick it could hasten the problem that they are in, but if they don't drink it then they are also in
trouble."
On Friday, survival packages containing food, medicine and torches were dropped through a sha in the
mountainside, which has now been widened to allow rescuers to be lowered into it.
Relatives have been keeping vigil outside the cave, with religious groups converging to help families cope.

Kampon Paree, 39, an uncle of three of the missing boys, said: "I am still hopeful and hope the children will come
out safely."
Medical teams have been practising drills to treat survivors and airli them from a makeshi helipad.
Australian police and military have joined other international teams in the rescue mission.

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