Thailand cave rescue: 'I may not prevent looking ahead to my son'

Rescue divers think they may be getting close to 12 boys and their football coach who went missing in a cave in northern Thailand more than a week ago.

The group appears to have been trapped by flooding caused by heavy rain, and a team led by Thai navy seal divers is pushing along a half-mile chamber towards a passageway where it is thought they may have taken refuge.

Sky correspondent Lisa Holland is at the Tham Luang cave complex in Chiang Rai province.

It's mid afternoon and so far the rain has held off.

It's a small mercy, enabling the mission to pump water from the flooded caves.

Water levels are fluctuating. Then the skies darken. Droplets of rain start to fall.

Image: Rescuers carry equipment into the cave complex

Monsoon season should be a blessed relief from the sapping closeness of jungle humidity.

But it's not. More rain will only diminish the chances of reaching the 12 boys and their football coach, who are trapped in a flooded cave, before it's too late.

As we walk around, ankle deep in mud, the rescue operation is at full throttle, with specialists travelling here from across Thailand.

There are also divers from Britain and Australia working alongside Thai navy seals.

Volunteers form a human chain to pass baskets of gravel to each other in a quest to build new vehicle tracks in double quick time.

Image: Rescuers say it is still possible the boys are alive

All this activity jars horribly with the serenity of a passing monk on his way to offer comfort to the boys' relatives. They are huddled in a makeshift tent, watching it all evolve.

The relatives are completely powerless save for possibly the most important thing. Sitting together close to the cave entrance, they hope their very presence here will somehow empower their loved ones to survive.

Image: Divers making their way through water in the tunnels of the complex

In Khamluang is among those waiting for news. He says he senses his 16-year-old son Pornchai is still alive and is willing the sports-mad teenager to stay strong.

"It's 50-50 whether they make it out," he tells me. "I won't stop waiting for my son. I hope a miracle will happen and my son is rescued."

He adds: "My son is a good boy and loves football and riding his bicycle.

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• Thailand cave rescue: Divers search murky waters as search to find missing boys steps up

• Thai police drop packages for young football team missing for six days

• British divers join mission to save football team from Thai cave

• Thailand cave rescue: Heavy rain hampers efforts to reach trapped football team

• Cave to be drained so divers can join search for missing footballers in Thailand

"I know my son will feel like I do and will be wanting to see me as much as I want to see him.

"I never thought something like this could happen but I have to stay strong and wait for him."

Original Article

World

December 31, 2018