Official: Need more oxygen to finish rescue An ambulance leaves the Tham Luang cave area after divers evacuated some of the 12 boys and their coach trapped at the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 8, 2018. - Elite divers on July 8 began the extremely dangerous operation to extract 12 boys and their football coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, as looming monsoon rains threatened the rescue effort. (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) / (Photo credit should read LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images) Father of rescued boy: I want to hug him 12 boys and their coach all out of Thai cave See first video of Thai boys' rescue from cave Some of the boys who were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand outside a hospital in Chiang Rai after being discharged. CHIANG RAI, THAILAND - JULY 18: Twelve boys and their coach from the "Wild Boars" soccer team arrive for a press conference for the first time since they were rescued from a cave in northern Thailand last week, on July 18, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were discharged early from Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital after a speedy recovery and thanked those involved in their rescue. (Photo by Linh Pham/Getty Images) (CNN) — Rescuers from China and Australia have joined the search for a youth soccer team missing in a Thai cave, as divers believe they’re closing in on the spot where the group could be sheltering. The international rescue operation – which includes more than 1,000 people from Thai emergency services, alongside a US military contingent and British cave experts – has been ramping up its efforts since the 12 boys and their 25-year-old soccer coach disappeared during an outing in the caves in northern Thailand on June 23. Divers are now closing in on elevated dry area, called Pattaya Beach, where they believe the missing boys may have taken refuge in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system. The dry area is several kilometers from the entrance of the cave. AKKAPOL CHANTHAWONG/FACEBOOK The missing boys, with their coach, are seen here in a photo taken from the coach's Facebook page. Water from the flooded cave has receded in recent days, allowing rescue teams to gain ground, according to Chiang Rai provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn. Linh Pham/Getty Images Rescue workers carry water pumping equipment into Tham Luang Nang Non cave on Sunday. Oxygen tanks have been installed at 25-meter junctures for divers to use, and a water pumping machine has also being deployed, added Osatanakorn. Heavy rains had previously hampered the rescue operation, as the caves became extremely dark and muddy. Linh Pham/Getty Images The rescue operation continues eight days after the boys went missing. On Friday a team of six Chinese experts arrived at the site in Chiang Rai province, according to the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. The experts hail from the Beijing Peaceland Foundation, an organization with more than 100 rescue teams and experience carrying out similar operations in mountainous Myanmar and Nepal. On Saturday Australia also deployed a team of six experts from its national police’s Specialist Response Group, according to the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop. The group, which typically carries out land search and rescue operations, also has experience diving in flooded caves. For now, divers continue to work at the mouth of the cave, and drilling is underway at several points in the cave complex, primarily to relieve the flooding. Anxious wait for families The boys, who range in age from 11 to 16 years old and a part of the same soccer team, have been missing for nine days. A park officer sounded the alarm after spotting the boys’ bicycles near the entrance to the off-limits cave complex. The cave labyrinth is popular with tourists and for the first kilometer (0.6 miles) or so inside the cavernous entrance, limestone rock formations hug high ceilings, creating an almost amphitheater-like atmosphere. Deeper inside, the passages narrow into places that locals warn it’s not safe to go. Sakchai Lalit/AP Thai soldiers walk out of the entrance to the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on Friday. In the vigils that have grown with every day of fruitless searches, families and friends have prayed, made offerings, and held fast to the possibility of signs of life. Some, enduring the torture of such a long, silent wait, have collapsed in the mud with exhaustion, and been sent to a hospital. “I feel I have just lost my heart when I found his bag, mobile phone and his shoes,” said Sudsakorn Sutham, whose son, Prajak is among the 12 missing boys. “But all I can do is wait.” 7 days in the dark: Time is running out for teenage soccer team Rescuers try other entry routes Late last week trekkers discovered a hidden opening deep in the jungle that may be a alternative point of entry to the cave system. The natural chimney, which is around 1.5 meters in diameter and at least 22 meters (72 feet) deep, was found to the north of the opening of the cave, where the boys’ bikes were found last Saturday. A mini digger lifted by MI17 helicopter. It’ll be dropped near one of prospect chimneys around Pha Mee Hill. Search continues. #Thamluang pic.twitter.com/NwlzPbuLV1 — Kochakorn J. (@KochaOlarn) July 1, 2018 Approaching the tunnels from above is “more promising,” according to British rescuers at the scene, as it bypasses a passage blocked by flood waters. Two British cave experts entered the chimney Friday morning, managing to descend to a depth of about 20 meters, before being relieved by another team. Though this is not the first natural chimney found on Pha Mee, it remains the most promising, according to search and rescue teams on site. However, surveying the area for other possible entry points is slow and time-consuming, as the terrain is tough going – mountainous and heavily forested. Heat imaging drones are also being used to search the hilly terrain above the cave system. Kocha Olarn/CNN Specialist equipment is able to transmit the images from the climber's helmet-mounted cameras back to the support team at the top of the chimney. Nine days after the boys went missing, rescue teams remained optimistic that they were closer than ever to finding them. CNN’s Kocha Olarn reported from Chiang Rai, Thailand, Yuli Yang reported from Hong Kong, Sheena McKenzie wrote in London. Jamie Tarabay and Euan McKirdy contributed to this report<doc-sep>The search for a missing Thai youth boys soccer team has entered its seventh day, raising fears for the boys and their coach. The team apparently hiked into the Tham Luang Nan Non caves June 23 and become trapped by rising flood waters. The Wild Boars team consists of 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25 year old coach. The team had explored the caves, a popular hiking spot for tourists and locals, in the past. They began their hike about 1 p.m. local time that Saturday. Hours later, a park ranger in the Chiang Rai province noticed their bikes still chained up at the entrance of the caves long after the park had closed and alerted authorities, according to CNN. Due to heavy rains, floodwaters had risen inside the cave, possibly cutting off the team's only escape route and making access to the cave difficult for rescuers. The Thai government has gone to great lengths to find the missing boys. They have asked search and rescue teams from the United States military, as well as underwater cave experts from the UK, to help locate the boys and their coach, TIME reported on Thursday. Divers of the Thai Navy SEALS have swum three miles into the cave, while drones have swept the six mile stretch of cave looking for heat signatures. With each passing day, fears have increased about the boys' survival. "Physically, it's not a hard cave, it's just very long and it has big passages, small passages," Vernon Unsworth, British cave expert and Chiang Rai resident told CNN, "It's not difficult but if the children have gone in too far then the floodwaters from the far end will be coming through. With the rain, it's not making it any easier." The mud, floodwater, and narrow passageways throughout the cave have proven difficult for even trained divers to navigate, The New York Times reported on Friday. The Tham Luang caves are a vast network of passageways and possible dry chambers, with signs warning visitors to stay away during the rainy season. Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, visited the rescue site on Friday and told families, who have been camped outside the caves since the disappearance, to have faith, CBS News reported on Friday.<doc-sep>See the recovery efforts in Gaza as ceasefire appears to hold 'Is everything I'm trying to do pointless? ': Syrians helpless in face of 'sham' election Brother of journalist detained in Myanmar says family is hopeful Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs Residents stand near stalls along a road amidst debris while strong winds batter Balasore district in Odisha state on May 26, 2021 as Cyclone Yaas barrels towards India's eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images) France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame speak as they walk in the grounds of The Presidential Palace in Kigali on May 27, 2021, after their press conference and prior to their official luncheon. - French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Rwanda on May 27, 2021, for a highly symbolic visit aimed at moving on from three decades of diplomatic tensions over France's role in the 1994 genocide in the country. Macron is the first French leader since 2010 to visit the East African nation, which has long accused France of complicity in the killing of some 800,000 mostly Tutsi Rwandans. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images) Relative of detained Iranian-Americans fears they will not survive (CNN) — Navy divers are searching a flooded cave for 12 missing boys in northern Thailand, three days after they’re believed to have ventured inside with their soccer coach. As search teams pushed deeper into Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in Chiang Rai on Tuesday, hopes remained high that the boys and their coach would survive the ordeal. “We are still optimistic they are all alive,” Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon told the Bangkok Post. “Even though they may not have anything to eat, they should have water to drink.” Officials believe the local soccer team crawled into the cave through a narrow 15-meter long channel, leading to a series of caves up to three kilometers (1.86 miles) long. Rising waters then blocked the path, which is about as wide as a single person, leaving the group stuck inside the cave network, Kamolchai Kotcha, an official with Thailand’s national parks authority, told CNN on Monday. “We have been working almost 24 hours but there are many limitations, the caves are pitch dark and very low level of oxygen in some areas, and scattering rains just made our task more difficult,” said Kotcha. Royal Thai Navy Officials search for a group of 13 trapped in a Thai cave. Park officials, local police and 17 members of the SEAL diving team from the Royal Thai Navy were deployed to assist in the search and rescue efforts. A post on the Thai Royal Navy SEAL Facbook page Monday afternoon stated: “It is still drizzling (and) water level is rising. Handprints were found around cave’s wall. But we still cannot locate the kids. Rescue operation continues.” An image posted said that SEAL divers have to dive to a depth of five meters to access the main chamber, where the missing boys are believed to be located. Thai Royal Navy SEALs The Thai Navy SEALs shared this image on Facebook with the caption, "Divers have to dive 5 meters deep to enter the main chamber." A portion of the photo was obscured by the Thai Navy SEALs. A post later that evening said that the dive team had to temporarily suspend their search due to flooding. The search resumed on Tuesday, with electric cables and ventilation hoses being laid in the cave, the Bangkok Post reported. Search teams are battling rising water levels by pumping out water from both the cave and the Nam Phu reservoir, which lies underneath. Thai News Pix/AP Rescue teams gather at the entrance of a deep cave where a group of boys went missing in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. Navy chief Admiral Naris Prathumsuwan told the Post that he was most worried that the boys were suffering from hunger and exhaustion. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun has also expressed concern for the team and support for their families. The 13 people, all males from Chiang Rai, have been missing since 1 p.m. local time Saturday, when a park officer spotted something amiss – bicycles parked idly by the entrance to the cave, despite it being off-limits. The caves are located in a well-known spot for local explorers and tourists in the northern province of Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai District. Northern Thailand is famous for its remote and untouched caves, which draw visitors from around the world.<doc-sep>
The U.S. Pacific Command sent a 30-person rescue team to northern Thailand to aid the desperate search for a group of teen soccer players who disappeared in a vast system of caves five days ago. The U.S. embassy in Bangkok said Thursday that the team was sent at the request of the Royal Thai government to assist the Thai military and local agencies in the region. “The United States team is now in Chiang Rai and delivering search-and-rescue experience and capacity to the already tremendous efforts underway by Thai authorities," the embassy said in a statement. "We hope the players and their coach will be brought home quickly and safely.” Twelve players, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach have been stranded since Saturday in the Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand's rugged, mountainous province. Thai military helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles and two drones equipped with heat detectors are assisting in the effort. Deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta said police dogs were at the scene, and crews are using all tools at their disposal. "We won't give up. That's the key here," he said. More:'We must find the children today': Desperate cave search underway More:Thai officials believe 12 boys missing in cave are alive British divers also have joined the effort. “The expert divers went straight from the plane into the cave to make an assessment,” Major Buncha Duriyapan, the local commander of Thai forces, told Reuters. He said workers would drill down from the top of the cave complex to create an alternative entrance for rescue workers. Heavy rains and flooding have made the common entrances unsafe. The search began when a mother reported her son had not returned from soccer practice. The group has not been heard from since the day they went missing. The rains this week have pushed the water level inside the cave above 20 feet at times, filling some of the caves' chambers. The high, fast-moving waters have disrupted the efforts of divers struggling for orientation in the murky underground sea. More pumps were being installed to flush water from the cave, but progress has been slow. Families of the missing joined by Buddhist monks have been conducting a vigil outside the cave entrance where the boys went in, and their bikes and soccer gear remain strewn in the area. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's office announced that he would visit the search site, possibly as soon as Friday. He previously had said he was staying away for fear his presence would disrupt search efforts. Contributing: The Associated Press