Thailand cave rescue: Navy divers join trapped children top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. After football practice on June 23, the 12 young players and their 25-year-old coach began to explore the caves after going on a picnic. However, heavy rainfall is believed to have flooded key passages, leaving them stranded and hindering the search efforts. The group were found in a dry chamber 2.5 miles (4km) from the entrance of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. The cave network stretches 10km into the mountain and the team were reportedly found about 400m from the chamber. The boys’ bikes were discovered at the entrance of the cave, which is under 16ft of water. The cave system stretches beneath the Nang Non Mountain and marks the border between Thailand and Myanmar to the north. There are at least three miles of narrow corridors connecting larger chambers of limestone dripping with stalactites. Within the cave is a chamber called Pattaya Beach, named after the tourist destination just south of the Thai capital Bangkok. Thailand cave rescue MAP: The boys are 2.5 miles from the entrance of the cave Time is said to be running out after Samarn Poonan, a former member of Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit, died last night. He entered the cave to lay oxygen tanks along a potential exit route before being discovered unconscious in the caves at around 8.30pm local time. He later died in hospital. None of the children can swim but they are currently being taught how to use SCUBA diving gear in a bid to escape. Enough oxygen should be provided in the small openings and the springs will supply fresh water. Thailand cave rescue MAP: Thailand football team trapped faces major risks to come out of the cave Thailand cave rescue MAP: Rescuers are attempting to the boys inside the cave One of now flooded passageways near chamber three is said to be too narrow for divers to wear oxygen tanks. They are said to be facing a number of other challenges while authorities decide whether to guide them out of the cave before monsoon season hits the country this weekend. Torrential rain is expected over the coming days, which could flood the cave further. This could result in the group becoming trapped for as long as four months. The Thailand cave rescue in pictures Wed, July 11, 2018 Thailand cave rescue: Pictures show the dramatic rescue operation of a trapped youth football team and their coach. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 45 All 12 of the trapped football team and their coach have been rescued from a cave in Thailand<doc-sep>A soccer team and its coach are stranded in a partially flooded cave system in northern Thailand. Authorities say they need to either learn to dive or wait months for flooding to subside before they can leave. The map shows how complicated it will be to get them out. A soccer team stranded in a Thai cave system for more than a week was found relatively healthy on Monday, but it may take months to get everyone out. Authorities say the only ways the 12 teenage boys and their coach can escape will be by learning to scuba dive, getting dragged out by divers, or waiting months for the flooding that trapped them in the cave to subside. The Tham Luang cave system in the Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand is a complex series of tunnels that are now partially flooded: Skye Gould/Business Insider The boys, who are ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were found alive on an elevated dry rock about 2 1/2 miles from the mouth of the cave after nine days of searches. It was particularly difficult for the rescuers to locate them because the cave system consists of dark, narrow bends that sometimes fit only one person, Ben Reymenants, one of the divers involved in the search, told Sky News. It took the divers at least four hours to swim to the point in the cave system where the team was located, he said. "This is one of the more extreme cave dives that I have done," Reymenants added. "It is very far, and very complex. There is current. The visibility can be zero at times." Rescuers at the entrance of the Tham Luang cave network on Monday. Linh Pham/Getty The group entered the cave on June 23, the BBC reported. It was most likely dry when they entered, but rushing waters later clogged the way back with mud and debris. Water levels in the cave are expected to rise as the summer goes on, as Thailand's rainy season usually lasts from May until October. Divers are supplying the group with food and medicine, Thailand's Navy SEALs said on Facebook. Two Thai medical workers have also joined the cave's occupants to keep them company and monitor their health, the SEALs added.<doc-sep>About a thousand Thai soldiers and civilians have been joined by technical experts from half a dozen countries in a desperate effort to rescue 12 young boys and their soccer coach trapped by floodwater in a cave in northern Thailand for more than a week. The boys, all members of the Wild Boars soccer team between the ages of 11 and 16, and their assistant coach, 25-year-old Ekkapol Chantawong, are believed to have entered Tham Luang Cave after practice on June 23 for what was meant to be roughly a five-hour trek. Monsoon rains flooded several chambers and blocked the exit. Rescuers tried to pump out the water so divers and medics could reach them, but the days that followed only brought more downpours. Authorities then began looking for alternative entries on the mountain above, but they found few viable options. More than a week later, time is running out. The search for the missing boys and their coach has gripped the nation. Well wishers hold vigils in schools and temples across the country. Social media users created hashtags to draw attention to the story. Residents of the mostly rural Chiang Rai province have volunteered to cook, clean and support the boys’ families and rescue teams at a muddy encampment near the entrance to the cave complex. They’ve held onto hope for ten days as Thai authorities try everything they can to make contact. Here’s why it’s taking so long to find the missing team, and what’s next in the extraordinary effort to save them. Local women attend a Buddhist prayer for the missing children at a school near Tham Luang cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 1, 2018. Lillian Suwanrumpha—AFP/Getty Images A Complex System The Tham Luang cave system is a sprawling complex beneath the Nang Non Mountain marking the border between Thailand and Myanmar to the north. Spanning roughly three miles as the crow flies, a system of narrow corridors winds sharply up and down, connecting larger chambers of limestone dripping with stalactites. Several small rooms are located along the 1.8-mile stretch from the cave’s mouth to a T-intersection. To the right is a tunnel leading north. To the left, the main attraction: a vast amphitheater-like chamber known as Pattaya Beach, named after the popular tourist destination just south of the Thai capital Bangkok. The trek to Pattaya is not particularly difficult, but it can take a few hours in dry conditions through narrow tunnels. Authorities hope that the missing team made it to the spacious cavern, where ground is high and likely to be above water. Small openings are expected to provide enough oxygen, while springs supply fresh water. Besides some scattered belongings in the earlier chambers of the cave, there has been no direct sign of the boys and their coach. But rescuers believe huddling on the Pattaya shelf would be their best — perhaps only — chance of survival. Divers have not yet been able to reach the chamber due to extremely rough conditions, while climbers have yet to find any chimneys leading into it from above ground. Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said Sunday that a conventional exit through the mouth of the cave is the most likely scenario. Thai Navy SEALs on the frontline of the rescue effort have established a command center in “chamber three,” an elevated room about a mile from the entrance and just under a mile from the junction, according to maps provided by Thai authorities. The station has been outfitted with lighting, medical equipment, a communications system and supplies such as food and oxygen, which is being deposited at 25-meter intervals throughout the inundated tunnels. As of Monday morning, divers were closing in on Pattaya after setting out from command, passing the intersection and arriving within a mile of the target. ‘Bad Luck’ Thai authorities responded quickly to the crisis, but conditions were not in their favor. SEALs arrived late on the night of June 24, and first dove into the dark waters around 2 a.m. They kept diving, rotating three teams of six over the next 16 hours, but made little progress through opaque pools of rain, dirt and debris. Rising water levels forced them to suspend exploration several times. Submersible pumps were brought to the scene to empty out the flooded tunnels, but new rains filled them right back up again. “We had bad luck,” Narongsak, the governor, told TIME on Friday. “The water came in faster than we could control it.” By Wednesday, Thai authorities had asked for help. Three British diving experts rushed to the scene, as did a cave expert with extensive knowledge of Tham Luang. The U.S. Indo-Pacific command sent a survival specialist and a team of pararescuemen — an elite special operations unit trained for search, rescue and medical response in almost any environment. Military personnel from Australia arrived later in the week. China, Japan and Israel also sent specialists, believed to be private-sector civilians. Upon their arrival Thursday, U.S. forces were met with pounding rains. Captain Jessica Tait, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Air Force, said Thai authorities were battling extremely unfavorable circumstances that got progressively worse. “This is a unique problem that’s bringing people together,” she said. “All of Thailand is here, bringing their hearts and their passions to solving this. Everyone is doing the best they can, given the situation.” No Help From Above Helicopters and drones hovered overhead searching for heat signatures and other signs of life, while police and soldiers rummaged through the jungle for chimneys that could provide an alternative entry point. Two appeared viable, according to Narongsak, and one provided access to a small room 40 meters below. It’s still unclear whether it connects to Pattaya; while extraction from above is unlikely, rescuers hope to at least make contact with the missing team to provide emergency medical treatment and food until floodwaters recede. Industrial drills supplemented efforts to drain the water, but progress is slow. Responders are working day and night in a race against rains expected to resume this week.<doc-sep>✕ Close Boys found alive in cave in Thailand Thai Navy SEALs say medics have now reached the 12 boys and their football coach after they were found alive in a cave in northern Thailand. SEAL commander rear admiral Arpakorn Yookongkaew said seven members of his unit - including a doctor and a nurse - are now with the group. Rescuers are racing to pump water from the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave before the predicted arrival of heavy rain, which would complicate efforts to free the team, who have been trapped 1km underground for the last 10 days. But it is thought the boys, who cannot swim, will either have to learn to swim and then to scuba dive through very narrow passages, or face waiting as long as four months for waters to subside. Mr Yookongkaew told a news conference his team members "have given the boys food, starting from easily digested and high-powered food with enough minerals". He said that having the boys dive out of the cave was one of several options being considered. If it were employed, he said they "have to be certain that it will work and have to have a drill to make that it's 100 percent safe". In video shot by British divers as the group were found, torchlight reveals boys in shorts and red and blue shirts in an underground cavern beside an expanse of water. Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Show all 100 1 /100 Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The 12 boys and their coach in the cave REUTERS Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave AP Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July AFP/Getty Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Thai military inside the cave complex EPA Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The 12 boys and their soccer coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for a news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, REUTERS Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The boys and their soccer coach rescued from a flooded cave play soccer REUTERS Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The young footballers and their coach appeared healthy when they appeared before the media for the first time since the rescue AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures EPA Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Coach Ekapol Chantawong REUTERS Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The 12 rescued members of the Wild Boar soccer team are greeted by their classmates on a mini soccer pitch EPA Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Rescued Thai football coach Ekkapol Chantawong together with 12 children pays tribute to Thai navy diver, Samarn Kunan, who died whilst attempting to rescue the boys AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Twelve young footballers and their coach rescued from a Thai caves being treated in hospital EPA Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Rescued soccer team members posing with a sketch of the Thai Navy SEAL diver who died while trying to rescue them AP Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Players writing messages on a drawing of former Navy SEAL diver Saman Kunan who died during attempts to rescue them AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Rescued "Wild Boars" football team members (top row L to R) Adul Sam-on, 14, Ekkarat Wongsukchan, 14, Phipat Photi, 15, Chanin Wiboonrungrueang, 11, (middle row L to R) Pornchai Khamluang, 16, Duangphet Promthep, 13, Peerapat Sompiengjai, 16, Sompong Jaiwong, 13, (bottom row L to R) Mongkol Boonpiem, 13, Prachak Sutham, 14, Nutthawut Thakamsong, 14, and Phanumas Saengdee, 13, recovering at the hospital in Chiang Rai province AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The life vest belonging to Duangpetch Promthep, the rescued captain of the "Wild Boars", REUTERS Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Divers from the rescue mission, from left to right: Chris Jewell, Mike Clayton, Rick Stanton, Lance-corporal Connor Rae, Josh Bratchley, Gary Mitchell and Jim Way who helped to save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand, speak to media after arriving back at London's Heathrow Airport PA Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures Volunteers gather for a ceremony before the clean up operation at the Tham Luang cave AFP/Getty Images Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures The last four Thai Navy SEALs come out safely after completing the rescue mission inside a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. Thailand's navy SEALs say all 12 boys and their soccer coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in far northern Thailand, ending an ordeal that lasted more than two weeks.<doc-sep>
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) — The Thai cave at the center of an international mission to rescue a soccer team and its coach is likely to become a tourist destination, government officials say. As rescuers worked around the clock to free the 12 boys and the man who coaches them, Thailand’s Prime Minster Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday that the cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai was “likely to become famous nationally and worldwide.” “It will eventually become an important tourist spot,” he said in a Facebook live video stream from his office. “Therefore we have to come up with (safety) measures to accommodate the tourism activities.” The prime minister added that in the past authorities lacked a good map of the cave, but that following the mammoth rescue operation “we should have a better diagram to create safety.” The Tham Luang Nang Non cave network made headlines around the world after the boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach disappeared on June 23. The group became stranded in the flooded tunnels after a relentless downpour of rain, until two British divers discovered them perched on a small ledge of dry land nine days later. Rescue teams are now racing to free the boys before more rain is forecast next week, and are working on solutions ranging from teaching them to dive to drilling an escape route. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images Workers fix the road leading to the Tham Luang Nang Non Luang cave on July 3. Once the mission is complete, authorities plan to repair the damage inflicted on the cave, and upgrade the area to a national park. The cave network is already well-known by locals. 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. Jongklai Worapongsathorn, the deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, told Thailand’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that the department had set its sights on developing the cave into a tourist destination. The plan would include signs making it clear to tourists which parts of the cave they should stay clear of, he said. CNN’s Kocha Olarn contributed to this report