Thai Navy SEALs Working To Rescue 12 Trapped Boys From Cave

Cover: Royal Thai Navy SEALs take part in the rescue operation (Picture: PA).

Rescuers are racing against time to pump out water from inside a flooded cave before they can extract 12 boys and their football coach in northern Thailand.

Thai Navy SEALs are currently in charge of extraction plans to estimate what sort of risk would be involved to take them out.

Parts of a passageway leading to where the boys and the coach were found on Monday is still flooded all the way to the ceiling, making diving the only way out.

Chiang Rai provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said: "What we worry most is the weather.

"We can't risk having the flood back into the cave."

He said earlier that not all 13 may be extracted at the same time depending on their condition.

He added the boys have been practising wearing diving masks and breathing apparatus, but he does not believe they have attempted any practice dives.

Officials have said they prefer to get the boys out as soon as possible because heavy rain is expected to start by Saturday, which could lead to water levels rising again in the cave.

They are hoping that an upgraded draining effort can lower the water level in an area where it is still at, or near, the ceiling.

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.

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 SEALs, including medics, who were staying with them inside the cave.

They were mostly in stable condition and have received high-protein drinks.

Kian Kamluang, whose 16-year-old son, Pornchai, is in the cave, said she had thought there was a 50% 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, 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 until 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 kilometres of transport under the water with zero visibility," said Claus Rasmusen, a certified cave diving instructor based in Thailand who has been helping the 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.

"Creating an environment that can make them safely get away, that's feasible."