2LT National News

BANGKOK, Thailand – After miraculously surviving for nine days and nights, inside the dark and murky depths of the fourth longest cave in Thailand, a group consisting of 12 young boys and their coach, were finally found alive.

On June 23, a search operation was initiated after the group was reported missing and their abandoned bikes were found at the entrance of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.

The 12 boys, all members of the Moo Pa (Wild Boar) football team are believed to have been guided into the cave as part of a day trip and were being led by their assistant soccer coach, Ekkapol Janthawong.

However, right from the start, the operation was marred by adverse weather conditions, with heavy rains sending torrents of water flooding through the cave.

As the weather made it difficult for the team of Thai navy divers to wade through the murky floodwaters, inside the pitch dark cave and find the 13 people – the world watched the operation unfold with bated breathe.

Right outside the cave, which is in a remote jungle in Thailand, relatives of the 12 young boys camped day and night, for nine long days.

As the crowd outside the cave swelled in size, shamans and Buddhist monks were called to hold prayers, imploring the mountain spirits to return the boys safely.

Relatives have offered prayers, fruits and sweets to the mountain spirits that they believe protect the cave and the forest. 

With unwavering hope, relatives closely watched every effort by the rescue team, as did the rest of the world. 

Thai Navy SEAL special forces, which had put together a team of navy divers, military, police and volunteers, led the desperate rescue mission in the dense jungle-covered and muddy mountainside and as rains continued to flood the cave with each passing day, the team’s tactics too changed.

The team them employed a variety of strategies, including usage of powerful industrial water pumps, drilling through rock to drain water, deploying drones equipped with thermal cameras, sending an underwater robot to analyze the depth and condition of the cave, and even using sniffer dogs to search for the missing group.

However, with local authorities not making any headway, the plight of the young boys and their coach drew an outpouring of emotion across the world. 

Several countries then sent some of their best divers to aid in the rescue operation, which increased not only the size, but also the level of expertise of the rescue team – taking the number to 1,000 people, including teams from China, Myanmar, Laos, Australia, the U.S., and the U.K.

The breakthrough came on Monday, when two British rescuers, who had arrived in the country last week to assist in the operation, found all the 13 people and confirmed that they were all unhurt. 

Backed by over 35 years of experience in extreme cave dives and rescues, the two British divers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen interacted with the group, after finding them about 400m away from the area that they had identified for their marathon search operation.

The interaction between the divers and the group of young boys was posted on Facebook by the Thai Navy SEAL special forces.

Food and medical help reaches the group

On Tuesday, even as the country continued to celebrate the successful discovery of the 13 people, authorities cautioned that the operation, which was dubbed ‘mission impossible’ by rescuers, had only crossed on hurdle.

Officials said that they are now faced with the toughest part of their operation – getting the group out safely.

Thai authorities also announced that the group had been rehabilitated with food, water and medical support and that the focus had now shifted towards devising the most risk-free method of getting them out.

Officials added that all the 13 people underwent an “informal” medical evaluation, and were given high-calorie gels and paracetamol.

Further, Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said that most of the team were found to be in a stable condition while some of the boys had sustained injuries or light injuries.

However, authorities pointed out that that the Tham Luang cave is not just known as one of Thailand’s longest cave, measuring about 10 kilometres, but is also one of the hardest ones to navigate as it is full of winding paths and narrow corridors.

Further, to reach the group, experienced international divers had to navigate a series of sharp, narrow bends that were clogged with mud and silt and in near-darkness.

Further, experts pointed out that the journey from the mouth of the cave to the part where the group is currently huddled up – a 2.5 miles long underwater cave route – would take a healthy and skilled Navy SEAL diver about six hours.  

To expect the weak and starving group of young boys, with no diving experience, to follow the same path, is being seen as a very risky proposition. 

Anmar Mirza, coordinator of the U.S. National Cave Rescue Commission explained, “Cave diving is a very technical skill and it’s extremely dangerous, especially for an untrained diver. So they may end up being better off trying to supply them in cave until they can be gotten out by other means.”

Yet, authorities said that after the group has been rehabilitated with basic supplies, they would attempt to train the boys to use crucial diving gear.

The British Cave Rescue Council warned in a statement, “Although water levels have dropped, the diving conditions remain difficult and any attempt to dive the boys and their coach out will not be taken lightly because there are significant technical challenges and risks to consider.”

However, several other strategies were being discussed and explorers were planning to use the knowledge they gained from scouring the mountain top for days earlier, to identify any possible alternative openings. 

The team revealed on Tuesday that they had found a few “promising” leads and have tried to drill deeper to see if any of those chimneys connect to the chamber where the boys have been stranded.

With the rain water still flooding the cave, authorities have very few options to get the group to safety – one of which involves the ‘wait and act’ approach. 

Currently, officials have said that water pumps are working around the clock to drain the floods though it has been an uphill battle as heavy rains have refused to let up and a much more intense downpour in the region has been forecast.

Experts have now advised that the group could remain inside for weeks, or even months, as rescuers work out the safest option to get them out.

In a brief statement on Tuesday, the Thai Army said that it was preparing enough food for at least the next four months to send to the group trapped inside.

Navy Captain Anand Surawan from Thailand’s Armed Forces said, “(We will) prepare to send additional food to be sustained for at least four months and train all 13 to dive while continuing to drain the water.”

Further, Osotthanakon told reporters that attempts were being made to install power and telephone lines inside the cave to let the boys speak with their parents.