Thai rescuers evacuate cave area, rescue bid for trapped boys seen imminent
Rescue operation continues in Thai cave
The rain could potentially set back progress made over the last week to drain the Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai.
Thai authorities on Sunday said they plan to evacuate an area around a cave in northern Thailand where a dozen boys and their soccer coach have been trapped so that a "rescue operation" can take place.
The announcement came as dark monsoon rainclouds loomed over the mountainous north of the country early on Sunday, potentially heightening risks at the cave where rescuers were still waging a "war with water and time" to save the 12 trapped boys and their assistant coach.
"Everyone who is not involved with the operations has to get out of the area immediately," police announced via loudspeaker at the muddy encampment, setting off a frenzy of moving and packing.
"From the situation assessment, we need to use the area to help victims," police said.
Mae Sai police commander Komsan Sa-ardluan ordered the media to leave the cave area over a loudspeaker. A large media contingent began packing up equipment including tripods and cameras, and moving down a muddy hill away from the mouth of the limestone cave.
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More than 100 exploratory holes have been bored -- some shallow, but the longest 400 metres deep -- into the mountainside in an attempt to open a second evacuation route and avoid forcing the boys into a dangerous dive through submerged tunnels.
The rain could potentially set back progress made over the last week to drain the Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai.
With oxygen levels dropping and rainstorms forecast, time is running out on a plan to teach the boys -- some as young as 11 and not strong swimmers -- to make a dive through narrow, waterlogged passageways that would challenge experienced cavers.
The group of twelve young boys aged between 11 to 16 of a local junior football team named the "Wild Boards" went missing in Tham Luang located beneath the Doi Nang Non mountain on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. The system is 10 kilometres long and is one of the most difficult cave systems to navigate due to the narrow passages and winding tunnels.