Divers in cave for second rescue at Chiang Rai as operation to save remaining eight
THE second phase of the cave rescue mission was last night underway, with a group of boys making their way out of the cave system and expected to arrive into the arms of medics.
A tight-lipped Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn declined to say how many boys were being extricated, but he said the rescuers had streamlined their operations and expected things to move rapidly from now.
“Today (Monday), we started evacuating boys at 11am and they will be out tonight,” the governor said.
“Last night (Sunday) I said we needed 20 hours to set up and then execute the mission, after which we can execute the mission. But our set-up conditions are better, and everything is being readied faster than expected.”
He stressed that those running the rescue mission needed “full rest, time to re-tension the life line and to check the equipment.”
Gov. Osotthanakorn told reporters the rescue mission is five hours ahead of schedule due to the low water levels.
“We will receive good news in a few hours,” he said.
The four rescued boys will not be allowed physical contact with their parents until the risk of infection has gone, Gov. Osotthanakorn said.
“They (the four) will be kept away from their parents for a while because we are concerned about infections,” he told reporters, adding doctors will decide on family visits “at a distance or through glass.”
The second rescue mission is being carried out by the same team of divers that extracted the first four boys.
The main issue facing rescuers — apart from extreme low visibility and the dual issue of oxygen depletion and carbon monoxide overload in the cave’s chambers — is a dangerous a choke point about 1km from where the remaining boys are trapped on a muddy ledge.
It requires divers to lead the boys down a narrow tunnel, at points only .7m wide, then crawl up above the water level, then down another tunnel once again into a deep pool.
It appears the rescue team, involving 50 foreign and 40 Thai divers, are mastering this obstacle.
Asked if the Australian anaesthetist and diver, Richard Harris, has been helping assess the boys, Narongsak said: “Every day.”
He said the four boys rescued on Sunday had been taken to Chiang Rai hospital. They were hungry,” he said. “They ate rice with pork and basil. They are currently being quarantined.”
Narongsak also expressed anger that media had breached the rescue team’s security by eavesdropping on their closed walkie-talkie channels, and complained a drone had chased a military helicopter.
The Tham Luang cave network has, until now, been little understood by speleogists, who are fast getting a lesson on the 10km system’s twists and turns.The professional divers are leading the boys out in pairs, with two divers escorting each boy and holding his tank to make his journey easier.
Local television showed footage of air tanks being winched through the cave on rope pulleys as they begin to attack the next phase of the mission, while a number off defibrillators were sent in the event of diver collapse.
Early yesterday, a rescuer at the site tweeted: “Started to transport air bottles, the medic team is in place, ready to take 4-6 boar out soon. Cloudy skies but not yet rain. But if it rains we don’t care — it will have no impact.”
The rescuer was referring to the Moo Pa Academy soccer squad, which translates as “wild boar”.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha refused to be drawn on how long the rescue mission would take, other than to say “we will do it as soon as possible, in the safest way”.
SECOND RESCUE MISSION
Earlier in the day, a rescuer at the site tweeted: “Started to transport air bottles, the medic team is in place, ready to take 4-6 boar out soon. Cloudy skies but not yet rain. But if it rains we don’t care – it will have no impact.”
The rescuer was referring to the Moo Pa Academy soccer squad, which translates as “wild boar”.
Other vision showed defibrillators were being sent into the cave network, should the worst happen.
The Tham Luang cave network has, until now, been little understood by speleogists, who are fast getting a lesson on the 10km system’s twists and turns.
In comments released by the government, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said for the second stage, divers needed to place more air canisters along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped since June 23. He said that process can take several hours.
He said the boys rescued are strong and safe but need to undergo detailed medical checks.
THE FOUR BOYS FREED
Nattawut ‘Tle’ Takamsai, 11, Monhkhol Boonpiam, 13, Prajak Sutham, 14, and Pipat Bodhi, 15, were reportedly taken to safety today, surviving the treacherous journey through flooded underground rivers and arriving safely into the hands of medics, in what has been dubbed a “masterpiece” mission.
But eight of their teammates, and the 25-year-old coach of the Wild Boars football team, remain trapped.
The rescued boys have been taken to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital via ambulance and helicopter.
They are being put in isolation for 1-2 days, inside a sterilised isolation unit, meaning there will still be no physical contact with their parents as they are medically assessed.
It’s expected there will be two more rescue operations to bring the boys out in groups of four.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop this morning welcomed the “wonderful news” four boys had already been evacuated.
“But the fact that it took so many hours underscores how precarious this whole mission is,” she told the Nine Network.
Ms Bishop revealed a team of six Australian Federal Police divers were an “integral” part of the rescue and were involved in a “daisy chain” of divers helping the boys out of the cave.
“They will obviously learn lessons from this first evacuation and apply those to the next couple of evacuations,” she said.
“I think they will bring the boys out in groups of four so there will be two more groups plus the soccer coach of course.
“It’s highly dangerous, it’s very precarious and our thoughts are not only with the boys but also with the diving and rescue teams that are assisting.”
She said Australian doctor Richard ‘Harry’ Harris was an “essential” part of the rescue.
“We sent the doctor from South Australia who is an anaesthetist and an expert cave diver and his qualifications and experience were certainly in demand,” Ms Bishop said.
“He has a diving support partner with him as well.
“The Australian doctor was in the cave, he was part of the medical assessment to determine that the boys were fit enough to dive and swim to freedom.”
Ms Bishop confirmed Australia would send more assistance to Thailand if asked.
The survival of the others who are still trapped in the cave is far from guaranteed with extraction efforts put on hold, to allow the rescue divers time to resupply
Photos of the isolation unit have emerged, as parents sleep at the rescue site and continue their nervous wait to be reunited with their boys.
EIGHT TO GO
The remaining eight remain underground. Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said the four who escaped were “safe” but officially released few details about their condition or identities.
Footage released by authorities showed groups of soldiers carrying what appeared to be two of the boys on stretchers into the back of waiting ambulances which then sped off for a nearby hospital.
The massive and so-far miraculous operation, involving 50 foreign and 40 Thai divers, saw the four children walk unassisted from the sprawling cave complex.
“Today we rescued four children and sent them to hospital,” Osotthanakorn said, tasked with overseeing the mission.
“We saw the children’s faces today — it is the perfect day, the best situation. The operation went much better than expected.”
He said the healthiest have been taken out first, and the next phase of the operation would start in 10-20 hours while equipment was rechecked and oxygen tanks refilled.
“After 16 days of waiting today we finally see the faces of the Wild Boars,” he said.
“Today is the best situation that allow us to carry out the evacuation operation. All of the four boys have been sent to the hospital and all of them are safe.”
HOW THE RESCUE HAS UNFOLDED SO FAR
The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said army Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam.
Just after 9pm last night (12am AEST), Thai navy SEALs posted on their Facebook page again, saying: “Have sweet dreams everyone. Good night. Hooyah.”
Gov. Osotthanakorn had earlier asked the world for its prayers so the 12 boys and their coach could be delivered safely.
“We expected the first child to come out at 9pm (12am AEST) but everything went well, with the first child coming out at 5.40pm (8.40 AEST) and the second child 10 to 20 minutes later,” he said. The second pair of boys followed two hours later.
The remaining eight boys and the soccer coach are either at “chamber 9”, where they have been stranded for much of the past 16 days, or moving forward to new positions in the cave.
Gov. Osotthanakorn said the families of the 12 boys and their soccer coach had given their consent for the operation to begin at 10am (1pm AEST) on Sunday morning.
Local media are reporting that the children and the coach — presuming all emerge safely — will be quarantined for seven days at the main Chiang Rai hospital but family will be permitted to visit.
Ten Thai and international divers were initially dispatched to head directly to “chamber 9”, where the team is waiting, while numerous other Australian, American, Chinese and European divers were sent to cave’s base camp or stationed along the route.
Though many ideas were proposed to get the boys out — from drilling through the mountaintop to devising nylon pods with air tanks — the rescuers went back to Plan A: diving and swimming them on a five-hour journey through tunnels and strong currents.
AUSTRALIAN RESCUE EFFORT
Australia has sent a team of 19 to support the dangerous rescue mission being lead by Thai authorities.
The group includes six Australian Federal Police divers and more divers from the Australia Defence Force, including Navy.
The divers formed part of the ‘daisy chain’ of rescuers who led four-of-the-12 boys out the cave system to the surface on Sunday.
Richard Harris, a doctor from South Australia and an anaesthetist with diving experience, was part of the medical team that determined the boys’ fitness to undertake the arduous 4km journey.
A Department of Foreign Affairs crisis response team is providing support to the Australians.
Australia stands ready to send more experts to help with the rescue, the federal government says.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has welcomed the rescue of four of the boys.
“It’s highly dangerous, it’s very precarious and our thoughts are not only with the boys but also with the diving and rescue teams that are assisting,” Ms Bishop told Nine today.
The mission’s initial success has raised hopes for those still trapped, but officials say it could take four days to complete the entire rescue.
‘TODAY IS D-DAY’
“Today is D-Day,” Gov. Osotthanakorn said earlier. “Though we have been looking for shafts to go to the place where the children are located, we have not found one. The new monsoon is coming.”
The mission was to pull the boys out in pairs, each accompanied by two divers who will stay at their sides on their treacherous journey.
The expected arrival of torrential rains forced the hand of rescuers, who feared that the water level in the cave — currently at its lowest level since the boys were found last Monday, after intensive pumping — will start rising fast.
Gov. Osotthanakorn said medics — including an Australian doctor who made a final check of the boys — declared them 100 per cent fit for the journey and they were as ready as they ever would be.
“Thirteen specialist foreign divers and five Thai SEAL divers are now going inside the cave to help the boys out,” he said.
“The children said they are ready to come out. They’re ready to join our mission. Family members know the mission, so we are already, physically and mentally.”
Gov. Osotthanakorn said rescuers had rehearsed the extraction with simulated dives. “We have planned the mission, with the duty of each person clear so there is no confusion. We have trained from dawn till dusk. We want you all to wait for the outcome, and please pray and send your encouragement for the mission.”
Each of the boys is being swum by two divers — one at the lead and one at the rear, assisted by oxygen masks and a safety line. Once they get beyond the flooded Sam Yak T-junction, they will be able to walk the remaining three kilometres back to where they first entered the cave.
A stream of ambulances and helicopters are in place to handle any problems, with all but essential staff ordered to depart the staging area as authorities seek to clear the paths in case a fast exit is needed.
At current water levels, it would appear that the soccer team, who are all poor swimmers, would only need to be fully submerged for short distances — after which their diver escorts could swim them with their heads above water most of the way.
All of the boys have been given basic instructions on how to use scuba equipment for the journey, which will be arduous.
The boys and their coach entered the cave system on June 23. They were discovered sitting on a ledge last Monday, all alive and well, though starving and anxious.
The world has been on tenterhooks since, but now the mission appears to running better than anyone had hoped.
It had been planned that four boys would make up the first group, with subsequent groups of three over the next few days. The coach was to be in the last group out.
A possible reason for the decreased rescue time is that water has receded, making some of the cave’s chambers walkable.
