10PM Update: Soccer Team still trapped in flooded cave, search suspended due to rising waters, believed still alive

[The Pattaya News]

Chiang Rai-

Update as of 10:20PM on Monday, June 25th.

Despite some early reports, the soccer team trapped in a Cave system near the Myanmar border in Chiang Rai have still not been rescued.

Roughly one hour ago, around 9:00PM Thai time, officials made the call to temporarily pull out after swimming up to 7KM inside the flooded Cave complex due to rain and rising waters and limited visibility.  Family members and an increasing public and media presence remain camped outside the Cave entrance hoping for positive news.

The elite Navy Seal Diving unit of the Thai Royal Navy, located in Chon Buri near Pattaya and who have had training from US Navy Seals during Cobra Gold yearly, are the primary rescue operation team at this point and were called in earlier Monday after authorities in Chiang Rai were unable to get into the Cave with their own resources.

The boys, aged 11-15, are believed to have entered the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in Chiang Rai province with their 25-year-old coach late on Saturday afternoon. A mother reported that her son did not return from football practice that day, prompting the search. Their coach, 25 years old, was with them. A total of 12 students are believed trapped.

Captain Anant Surawan, chief of the Underwater Demolition Assault Unit, said the darkness and water level were posing risks for the operation. All were ordered to return to map out the next moves, he added. Locals and forest rangers said vertical shafts also provided entry to the complex and that there were other remote and difficult entrances but they will be looked at by the teams for a point of entry.

The Navy team states that based on evidence they found, including backpacks and items abandoned in flooded caverns, that the students kept heading deeper into the cavern complex and they strongly believe they are still alive and headed to an area that cannot be flooded due to the Cave level according to forest rangers but is roughly 8KM in and very difficult to reach.  They have sent supplies in water proof packages with fresh water and food through the cavern complex hoping they will reach the predicted dry portion as the current carries to that portion.

We here at The Pattaya news hope for positive news.

 

 

 

 

 

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[mestorm]

I like exploring caves quite a bit, but this would be terrifying to say the least.

Here is hoping that they all make it out alive.

[william77]

 

[Harry Brown]

Sorry guys due to a poster wanting his posts removed I have subsequently had to remove the posts that quoted them as well, if you would like to re-comment but without the reference to that posters removed post, then please do so.

 

Thanks.

Yes let's hope all are safe and well.

 

[william77]

Is there anyupdate as of this evening? 

[rope-a-dope]

I only just stumbled on this on the BBC site. Let's hope everyone is bunkered down safely somewhere and can be extracted. Seems nominal media coverage at the moment, as compared with other such events.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44610972

[Oukiva]

There is a well documented and frequently updated article on Chiang Mai CityLife website :

http://www.chiangmaicitylife.com/news/live-updates-teenager-football-team-trapped-thai-cave/

 

[tweedle-dee]

 

Not one for watching the box every 5 mins but since those kids went missing ...i'm rather anxious about there survival rate .. due to the current down pours were getting and the shear size and complexity of this Cave and at there ages i would reckon shear fear running thru them ...my fingers truly X

[javasumatra]

10 minutes ago, tweedle-dee said:

 

Not one for watching the box every 5 mins but since those kids went missing ...i'm rather anxious about there survival rate .. due to the current down pours were getting and the shear size and complexity of this cave and at there ages i would reckon shear fear running thru them ...my fingers truly X

Its not looking good and making international news. I hope they are found alive.

[boingo]

Fingers crossed for them.

[tweedle-dee]

4 minutes ago, javasumatra said:

Its not looking good and making international news. I hope they are found alive.

My beef is that this Cave is prone to severe flooding during rainy season until November..it should be CLOSED to prevent this.

[robert]

It is all over the news in America, still have not been found, there is a large search effort underway, the problem is rain and no light, I pray for there safety

[tweedle-dee]

3 minutes ago, robert said:

It is all over the news in America, still have not been found, there is a large search effort underway, the problem is rain and no light, I pray for there safety

Seems they been there 4/5 times before i just been told ..so maybe its to there advantage on where to flee too on higher levels ..but in the pitch black !...cant even imagine how they are coping ..hope they grouped together with the oldest 27 year old team coach.

[PAT21]

Very sad news that spread all over the media   http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38507952/flooding-complicates-cave-search-for-thai-soccer-team         Hopefully the amount of water entering the Cave will decline rapidly.

[Oukiva]

…

At 9.25pm Tuesday, Mae Sai police report that floodwaters are just 150m away from the 3rd big Cave hall, the area where authorities have set up a operation centre from within the Cave.

At 11.30pm Tuesday, flooding increased, with some areas completely submerged in water.

At 4.45am Wednesday, rescue teams were forced to relocate their main base of operations inside the Cave located in the 3rd big Cave hall, to the 2nd big Cave hall (closer to the entrance of the cave) as the 3rd big hall became totally flooded. According to Thai NavySEAL, floodwaters are rising at 6 inches per hour at this time.

At 7.30am Wednesday, Jonathon Head from the BBC reports that due to heavy rainfall, rescue is becoming increasingly difficult. He also reports that the larger water pumps are not working right now, and the water is still rising.

At 9.45am Wednesday, the Thai army take in another large pump pipe into the Cave to try and pump out the water. Reports suggest another 5 heavy duty pumps are being delivered from Bangkok at this time. Chiang Mai has sent an extra 75 infantry men to help in the efforts, 14 border patrol guards have been sent to help and an extra MI-17 helicopter has been provided by the Army. The Royal Irrigation Department has sent an extra 10 large pumps and Ayutthaya Irrigation has sent 2 high pressure water pumps to help accelerate the pumping of floodwater. Many of these pumps are pumping water from out of a nearby lake where the overflow of floodwater from the Cave flows into, in the hope that the displacement of water will encourage more water to leave the Cave. However, heavy rainfall still proves to be a serious issue that is hampering the rescue.

At 10am Wednesday, BBC Thai reported that a team of three from Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation (UK) will be flying out in support of the Thai Government and help with the rescue. They will be bringing 4 Heyphones – a specialist Cave radio system that can transmit hundreds of meters through solid rock – and diving equipment relayed by the British Police.

The teenagers and their coach have now been stuck inside the Cave for 90 hours.

According to a report by Chiang Mai One, a former village headman in the area of Tham Luang said that in 1974, a group of foreigners had been stuck in the same Cave for seven days.

At 11am Wednesday, a photo was shared by Sky Thai News of authorities lifting life saving equipment and resources from the back of a truck that could not get to the Cave entrance because the road was fully blocked by other veichles. Despite the Traffic Police closing the road and creating a one way system, while also banning anyone who is not directly involved in the rescue from entering (in order to reduce traffic and random people who just want to observe), many cars have been left on the road blocking the way for rescue vehicles.

At 12am Wednesday, authorities said that the hole discovered on the mountain above the Cave (above the Pattaya Beach section of the cave) was only 5 metres deep before it became too small and mostly blocked, meaning that it could not be used as a rescue or communication route.

At 2pm Wednesday, Maj, Gen, Chalermchai Sitisat, the Army Commander on the ground at Tham Luang, told the press that he has ordered another company of troops from Special Combat Unit 5 to join the search and rescue efforts. He also said he is confident that they will find the missing group but the main problem they are facing now is the constant increase of water inside the caves caused by another very heavy downpour early this afternoon.

[jocky king]

Please god , hope they are still alive .... longer they are missing , the more worry will be .... 

[roknrob]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thailand-cave-children-trapped-flooding-soccer-team-coach-tham-luang-nang-non/

Terrible news. I hope they are ok.

Anyone follwing this and have an update?

[william77]

5 hours ago, Oukiva said:

…

At 9.25pm Tuesday, Mae Sai police report that floodwaters are just 150m away from the 3rd big cave hall, the area where authorities have set up a operation centre from within the cave.

At 11.30pm Tuesday, flooding increased, with some areas completely submerged in water.

At 4.45am Wednesday, rescue teams were forced to relocate their main base of operations inside the cave located in the 3rd big cave hall, to the 2nd big cave hall (closer to the entrance of the cave) as the 3rd big hall became totally flooded. According to Thai NavySEAL, floodwaters are rising at 6 inches per hour at this time.

At 7.30am Wednesday, Jonathon Head from the BBC reports that due to heavy rainfall, rescue is becoming increasingly difficult. He also reports that the larger water pumps are not working right now, and the water is still rising.

At 9.45am Wednesday, the Thai army take in another large pump pipe into the cave to try and pump out the water. Reports suggest another 5 heavy duty pumps are being delivered from Bangkok at this time. Chiang Mai has sent an extra 75 infantry men to help in the efforts, 14 border patrol guards have been sent to help and an extra MI-17 helicopter has been provided by the Army. The Royal Irrigation Department has sent an extra 10 large pumps and Ayutthaya Irrigation has sent 2 high pressure water pumps to help accelerate the pumping of floodwater. Many of these pumps are pumping water from out of a nearby lake where the overflow of floodwater from the cave flows into, in the hope that the displacement of water will encourage more water to leave the cave. However, heavy rainfall still proves to be a serious issue that is hampering the rescue.

At 10am Wednesday, BBC Thai reported that a team of three from Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation (UK) will be flying out in support of the Thai Government and help with the rescue. They will be bringing 4 Heyphones – a specialist cave radio system that can transmit hundreds of meters through solid rock – and diving equipment relayed by the British Police.

The teenagers and their coach have now been stuck inside the cave for 90 hours.

According to a report by Chiang Mai One, a former village headman in the area of Tham Luang said that in 1974, a group of foreigners had been stuck in the same cave for seven days.

At 11am Wednesday, a photo was shared by Sky Thai News of authorities lifting life saving equipment and resources from the back of a truck that could not get to the cave entrance because the road was fully blocked by other veichles. Despite the Traffic Police closing the road and creating a one way system, while also banning anyone who is not directly involved in the rescue from entering (in order to reduce traffic and random people who just want to observe), many cars have been left on the road blocking the way for rescue vehicles.

At 12am Wednesday, authorities said that the hole discovered on the mountain above the cave (above the Pattaya Beach section of the cave) was only 5 metres deep before it became too small and mostly blocked, meaning that it could not be used as a rescue or communication route.

At 2pm Wednesday, Maj, Gen, Chalermchai Sitisat, the Army Commander on the ground at Tham Luang, told the press that he has ordered another company of troops from Special Combat Unit 5 to join the search and rescue efforts. He also said he is confident that they will find the missing group but the main problem they are facing now is the constant increase of water inside the caves caused by another very heavy downpour early this afternoon.

Thanks 

[Fraxb]

Personally think it will end well. Just a matter of finding them. 3 weeks no food and id start to worry. They certainly have access to water. No doubt there just holed up somewhere waiting. I read somewhere that the temp in the Cave isnt too bad.

Im surprised they havent located them yet. Surely with todays tecnology and diving equipment they couldve scoured the Cave by now? 

[brutox]

Looking at the hopeful, smiling faces of these young boys in their group photo, this is just absolutely gut-wrenching.

I don't know about you men, but this is for me very hard to follow.

They are throwing enough bodies at the rescue .. hope they are loaded with experienced talent and the best available equipment.

Seems the whole world is now watching.

[SteveX08]

The divers have an unenviable job.

With zero  visibility due to muddy water, unknown current strength and possibly inaccurate maps,  you couldn’t get much worse diving conditions.  Add in decompression obiligations due to extended dive times and the task becomes almost impossible.

Cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports possible - and that’s done in water with generally good visibility.

[william77]

Anyone knows if the Cave system has other entrances?

[Vessey]

1 hour ago, Fraxb said:

Personally think it will end well. Just a matter of finding them. 3 weeks no food and id start to worry. They certainly have access to water. No doubt there just holed up somewhere waiting. I read somewhere that the temp in the cave isnt too bad.

Im surprised they havent located them yet. Surely with todays tecnology and diving equipment they couldve scoured the cave by now? 

 

Sadly it appears to be a VERY long Cave including the flooded stretch that divers need to get past to wherever they might be and, reportedly, water levels are still rising.

Just have to hope that the Thai authorities are open to whatever international help is offered - not as obvious as it sounds - Thai loss of face etc.

I too find it emotionally hard to follow this - just have to hope .....

 

[forcebwithu]

1 hour ago, SteveX08 said:

The divers have an unenviable job.

With zero  visibility due to muddy water, unknown current strength and possibly inaccurate maps,  you couldn’t get much worse diving conditions.  Add in decompression obiligations due to extended dive times and the task becomes almost impossible.

Cave diving is one of the most dangerous sports possible - and that’s done in water with generally good visibility.

I don't believe decompression is an issue with these dives as max depth has been reported as 5 m.

[tweedle-dee]

For those who give a fig on a MONGERS forum, 3 English Cave divers have arived from the UK today ..no time wasted and gone in at this moment here 8 pm in a last ditch effort to get these kids out alive. I make NO apology for posting the latest up date.