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| Thai cave rescue: What next for the trapped boys? | Thai cave rescue: What next for the trapped boys? |
| (1 day later) | |
| Rescue workers are facing the crucial task of getting 12 boys and their football coach out of a flooded cave in Thailand. | Rescue workers are facing the crucial task of getting 12 boys and their football coach out of a flooded cave in Thailand. |
| The group had already spent nine days in the cave with no food or light when they were discovered on Monday. | The group had already spent nine days in the cave with no food or light when they were discovered on Monday. |
| But the authorities say they might have to stay put for weeks or even months until they can escape safely. | But the authorities say they might have to stay put for weeks or even months until they can escape safely. |
| How they could get out - options | |
| Diving | |
| One possibility is that the boys could be taught to swim through the cave's tunnels using scuba-diving equipment. | |
| "The option to bring them out by diving is the quickest but it's also the most dangerous," Anmar Mirza, national co-ordinator of the US Cave Rescue Commission, told the BBC. | "The option to bring them out by diving is the quickest but it's also the most dangerous," Anmar Mirza, national co-ordinator of the US Cave Rescue Commission, told the BBC. |
| Skilled professional divers still needed several hours to get to the trapped group from the entrance - through tiny, debris-strewn passages and aided by round-the-clock water pumping efforts to try to clear the flood waters. | |
| Meanwhile, the Thai boys are not trained divers, and - what's more - many of them reportedly cannot swim. | |
| Rescuers could supply full-face masks and install dive lines, oxygen tanks along the way and glow sticks to light the path. But experts warn the risk would still be great. | Rescuers could supply full-face masks and install dive lines, oxygen tanks along the way and glow sticks to light the path. But experts warn the risk would still be great. |
| Edd Sorenson, regional co-ordinator in Florida for the International Underwater Cave Rescue and Recovery Organisation, told the BBC the diving option was "extremely dangerous and hazardous", saying he would consider it "an absolute last resort". | |
| "Having somebody in zero visibility that's not familiar with... that kind of extreme conditions, it's real easy and very likely that they would panic, and either kill themselves and/ or the rescuers." | |
| Drilling | |
| Authorities have tried to drill holes in the cave walls to help drain some of the flood water - although the thick rock has hampered efforts. | |
| There have also been suggestions that drilling could be another way to get to the boys and airlift them out. | |
| But to even begin the process, new roads would need to be built up above the caves to accommodate the heavy drilling equipment needed to break through the rock. | |
| On top of that, Mr Mirza explains you would need to have conducted a survey of the caves and to know them back to front before you could start drilling - otherwise there would be little chance of digging a hole in the correct place for the boys and their coach. | |
| "It sounds easy but it's actually very difficult," he says. "It's a needle in a haystack problem." | |
| Waiting for waters to recede | |
| In this case, the group could safely leave on foot. | |
| But experts warn that this could take months, as the monsoon season sets in. | |
| Read more: How will rescuers free the Thai boys? | Read more: How will rescuers free the Thai boys? |
| What are the dangers down there? | What are the dangers down there? |
| The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach, are huddled on a small rock ledge. The environment is wet, so they must keep warm and dry or risk hypothermia. | |
| Rock falls are a threat, but the main concern for rescue teams is rising flood levels. Storm waters could complicate access routes, threaten the supply of air into the chamber and hamper evacuation attempts. | Rock falls are a threat, but the main concern for rescue teams is rising flood levels. Storm waters could complicate access routes, threaten the supply of air into the chamber and hamper evacuation attempts. |
| While they wait to be freed, the boys must remain calm and stay on the ledge, says Andy Eavis, retired head of the British Caving Association. | While they wait to be freed, the boys must remain calm and stay on the ledge, says Andy Eavis, retired head of the British Caving Association. |
| If not, they could easily fall down a drop in the rock, or get washed away by the water. | If not, they could easily fall down a drop in the rock, or get washed away by the water. |
| Read more: What to do to survive underground | Read more: What to do to survive underground |
| "Crawling around in the dark is the biggest problem," Mr Eavis told the BBC. | "Crawling around in the dark is the biggest problem," Mr Eavis told the BBC. |
| What help are they being given? | What help are they being given? |
| Much-needed food and medical supplies - including high-calorie gels and paracetamol - reached the boys and their coach on Tuesday. | Much-needed food and medical supplies - including high-calorie gels and paracetamol - reached the boys and their coach on Tuesday. |
| "(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," Navy Captain Anand Surawan said, according to a statement from Thailand's armed forces. | "(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," Navy Captain Anand Surawan said, according to a statement from Thailand's armed forces. |
| Officials say most of the group are unhurt, although some are weak or have minor injuries. A doctor and nurse are with them, and will decide whether they are strong enough to be moved. | Officials say most of the group are unhurt, although some are weak or have minor injuries. A doctor and nurse are with them, and will decide whether they are strong enough to be moved. |
| In the meantime, divers have been taking hundreds of oxygen tanks into the cave, and are preparing to establish a base camp inside the chamber. | In the meantime, divers have been taking hundreds of oxygen tanks into the cave, and are preparing to establish a base camp inside the chamber. |
| How will they deal with mental strain? | How will they deal with mental strain? |
| "What is terribly debilitating in these situations is the darkness," says Mr Eavis. | "What is terribly debilitating in these situations is the darkness," says Mr Eavis. |
| The boys may have had torches or lights on mobile phones, but they have potentially been sitting in the dark for hours, he says. | The boys may have had torches or lights on mobile phones, but they have potentially been sitting in the dark for hours, he says. |
| So rescue teams have been taking lighting into the chamber, and keeping the group company. | So rescue teams have been taking lighting into the chamber, and keeping the group company. |
| Divers have also been preparing power and telephone lines to enable the boys to speak with their parents. | Divers have also been preparing power and telephone lines to enable the boys to speak with their parents. |
| Everything considered, they seem to be doing fine so far. | Everything considered, they seem to be doing fine so far. |
| "They're mentally stable which is actually pretty good," Ben Reymenants, a Belgian diver helping with the rescue operation, told AFP news agency. | "They're mentally stable which is actually pretty good," Ben Reymenants, a Belgian diver helping with the rescue operation, told AFP news agency. |
| "Luckily the coach had the sanity of mind to keep them all together, huddled together to conserve their energy, that basically saved them." | "Luckily the coach had the sanity of mind to keep them all together, huddled together to conserve their energy, that basically saved them." |