The world is keenly waiting for the success of this rescue operation for 12 boys and their soccer coach. An elite team of rescue divers and all these are making a treacherous journey to safety through flooded underground caverns. Till the time of posting this report, four boys have come out successfully. According to rescue officials, they are now on medical treatment. Efforts are going one for bringing others to the surface.
A 25-year-old coach and his team of boys, aged between 11 and 16 were on an adventure picnic to explore the cave complex. But, all these were trapped in rising waters from bursts of monsoon rain.
This limestone mountain range bordering Myanmar in northern Thailand has such a cave system that can be a formidable challenge for the international rescue team. These divers started the rescue mission on Sunday morning.
One of the divers from the rescue team told that this is really dangerous even to the most experienced divers as you need to dive through narrow passageways swirling with cold, strong currents. Not just this, you might need to go through thick mud, clamber over slippery jagged rocks.
Diver told a media person that Tham Luang cave complex can be described as the more difficult to navigate cave than any other he had experienced.
One Thai Navy SEAL said, “Nearly 0.6-mile long section is really crucial as you will be huddling in darkness and mostly, navigating by crawling through mud. There are some crevices barely wide enough for a person. That Hole was really small and I got stuck in that. Somehow, I manage to navigate that one.”
British Cave Rescue Council is also contributing in this rescue mission. It has sent seven divers for this rescue operation. The association has written over its website, “This demonstrates in stark terms, the dangers associated with the cave environment, especially those characterised by long sections of passage with deep water or those entirely filled with water.”
Each boy is accompanied by two expert divers. Once past that stretch, the escape route for these boys forks east at a T-junction.
According to expert, here, they must scrabble over a diverse terrain and that might be having some giant boulders, sand and slippery rocks with sudden cliff-like drops.
The rescue team leader said that one underground operations centre has been set up in the so-called “cavern 3”. From there, we are hoping a furthermore 2-kilometre journey to reach the mouth of the cave. Extensive pumping in some of the larger caverns has actually worked out and reduced water levels. As a result, they were now walkable. However, the morning was full of monsoon rain, yet this idea worked well.
One former veteran SEAL told the media person that he was recalled for this mission. His experience says that it is going to be very dark. It is going to be tough even with the consistent use of the spotlight. He said, “Undoubtedly, one needs to work with his instinct in these sorts of conditions.”
He also mentioned that falling oxygen levels will also cause a problem with many of the boys. First, they might not be able to swim well in such terrible conditions and they will also be panic because of slow movement through the pitch-black waters.
Well, the mission is still going on and we can only pray for their survival in such horrific conditions. Let’s wait and watch the outcome of this great rescue operation.

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