Thailand cave rescue begins: Operation to bring out first group of trapped boys to take about 11 hours
Rescue operation begins at 10am local time
First group expected to emerge at 9pm local time (3pm BST)
Whole operation could take 2-4 days
13 foreigners taking part in rescue
Meet the 'A-Team' of heroic volunteer British divers who led search
Eighteen divers began a daring rescue mission on Sunday to free 12 Thai boys and their football coach from deep inside the Tham Luang cave in Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province - but the first group is not expected to emerge until late in the evening.
Narongsak Osottanakorn, Chiang Rai’s governor, said the conditions for the rescue were the best they had been since the young football team was discovered by British cave divers on Monday night. They have been trapped for two weeks after being blocked in by rainwater while exploring the cave.
"Today is the D-day. The boys are ready to face any challenges," rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters near the cave site as weather forecasters warned of more monsoon rains late on Sunday that would cause more flooding in the cave.
After an unseasonal dry spell, and furious efforts to pump out deep floodwater from the 2.5-mile narrow passageway separating the boys from the exit, the water was now at its “lowest” levels to date and most of the path was walkable, he said.
“A new storm is coming. If we wait and rain water comes in, our readiness will be lower than now,” said the governor. “I confirm that the kids know about the mission and they are willing and ready to come out.”
The rescue team includes 13 international divers and five Thai navy seals. The rescue operation began at 10am and the boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach, will be taken out one by one, accompanied by two divers each.
Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam said the whole operation could take approximately two to four days, "depending on weather and water conditions".
An Australian doctor assessed the boys on Saturday night and gave the all clear for the taxing physical journey. Earlier examinations had concluded that they had been too weakened by the ordeal of their first week with no food to subject them to a perilous dive.
Concerns have been running high all week the children, some of whom reportedly cannot swim, may panic while passing through murky floodwater in a labyrinth of jagged passageways that have challenged even the most experienced of divers.
The death of former Navy Seal diver, Saman Kunan, 38, who ran out of oxygen on Thursday night as he was delivering air tanks through the cave network, highlighted the dangers of an underwater extraction.
But Navy Seals, who have remained with the boys since Monday, have been training them how to use scuba gear, and they may be given full face masks to help keep them calm.
Medical teams have been rehearsing evacuation drills for days, and a helicopter may be used to whisk the boys quickly to hospital.
The media and all unnecessary personnel were asked to leave the entrance of the site on Sunday morning, to give rescue teams more space to work.
The protracted operation to first find and then rescue the boys has involved more than 1,000 people, with experts from around the world – including from the US, UK, Japan, China and Australia – flying in to help.
The expertise to hand may give some comfort to parents waiting anxiously by the cave entrance. On Saturday parents and their sons were able to exchange poignant hand-written notes to each other.
“Titan, I am waiting for you in front of the cave. I love you son and miss you a lot. You should be patient and willing to fight and be strong,” wrote one mother.
“You can make it. I believe you can make it. I give you all my support. Love you loads. Your Dad misses you as well and he loves you very much."
Brothers in arms
The Thai Navy Seals have posted an image on Facebook after the rescue operation was announced, showing rescue workers holding each others' arms and emphasizing the work with international rescuers.
Whole operation could take 2-4 days
A Thai army commander says the ongoing rescue could take two-four days depending on conditions inside the partially flooded cave.
According to Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam, the 13 "will continuously come out in approximately two to four days, which all may change depending on weather and water conditions."
Rescuers had to act immediately
After a short deluge of rain on Saturday night and with more bad weather forecast later on Sunday, Narongsak said authorities had to act immediately.
"There is no other day that we are more ready than today," he said. "Otherwise we will lose the opportunity."
Sustained heavy rains could make the water rise to the shelf where the children were sitting, reducing the area to "less than 10 square meters", Narongsak had said on Saturday.
13 foreigners taking part in rescue
A total of 13 foreigners and five Thai divers are taking part in the rescue.
Rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said the boys will gradually come out accompanied by two divers each.
The only way to bring them out of Tham Luang Nang Non in Chiang Rai province is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air.
In a sign of the challenges facing the divers and boys, a former Thai navy SEAL passed out making the dive on Friday and died.
Experienced cave rescue experts consider an underwater escape a last resort, especially with people untrained in diving, as the boys are.
The rescue chief earlier that mild weather and falling water levels over the last few days had created optimal conditions for an underwater evacuation that won't last if it rains again.
Extraction will take about 11 hours
The divers went in at 10am local time - about 45 minutes ago - and the 13 people in the cave have been informed of the operation, as have the families.
The earliest the first group will emerge from the cave is 9pm, rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters near the cave site.
"The boys are ready to face any challenges," he said.
Rescue mission under way
Rescue efforts for boys in Thai cave have begun, the mission chief has told a press conference.
“Today is D-day” Thai official at press conference on Cave rescue operation.
— Imelda Flattery (@Imeldaflattery) July 8, 2018
