MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) – Electricians are extending a power line into a flooded cave in northern Thailand to help the search and rescue efforts for 12 boys and their soccer coach stranded three nights in the sprawling caverns and cut off by rising water.
Rescuers led by elite navy divers were forced to suspend their search Monday night due to flooding but were to resume Tuesday.
The boys, aged 11-15, and their coach were believed to have entered the cave in Chiang Rai province late Saturday afternoon.
A bicycle left by one of the missing boys stands parked outside a flooded cave Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. Anguished parents of 12 members of a boys’ soccer team missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand were spending a third night without their children Monday as water continued to rise in the sprawling caverns, forcing rescuers led by elite navy divers to suspend their search. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
Officials said pouring rain flooded parts of the cave with at least 5 meters (16 feet) of water but they believe the boys are alive.
Officials said the power line would provide lights and ventilation for the rescuers and could help pump out water.
A pair of soccer shoes are left next to bicycles from a group of missing boys at the entrance of a deep cave in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, Monday, June 25, 2018. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Thai News Pix via AP)
Rescue teams gather in a deep cave where a group of boys went missing in Chang Rai, northern Thailand, Monday, June 25, 2018. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Krit Promsakla Na Sakolnakorn/Thai News Pix via AP)
Bicycles left by a group of missing boys lean against a railing at the entrance of a deep cave in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, Monday, June 25, 2018. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Thai News Pix via AP)
In this image made from video taken Sunday, June 24, 2018, rescue teams gather at the entrance of a deep cave where a group of boys went missing in Chang Rai, northern Thailand. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (TPBS via AP)
Rescue teams gather at the entrance of a deep cave where a group of boys went missing in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, Monday, June 25, 2018. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Thai News Pix via AP)
In this image made from video taken Sunday, June 24, 2018, bicycles left from a group of boys who went missing stand parked outside a deep cave in Chang Rai, northern Thailand. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (TPBS via AP)
In this photo taken Saturday, June 23, 2018, stalactites hang at the entrance to a large cave where a group of boys went missing in Chang Rai, northern Thailand. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Chiang Rai Public Relations Department via AP)
In this Saturday, June 23, 2018, photo, the Governor of Chiang Rai Narongsak Osatanakorn talk to his staff in the entrance of the cave where a groupof boys went missing in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Officials say multiple attempts to locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for nearly two days have failed, but that they will keep trying. (Chiang Rai City Public Affairs Department via AP)
Advertisement
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.