Rescuers in Thailand raced against time, heavy rains and rising waters in a desperate attempt Tuesday to save a soccer team trapped for a fourth day in a sprawling cave complex. A Thai Navy SEAL team is leading the search for 12 children and their coach stranded in the Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand's rugged, northernmost Chiang Rai Province. Helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles and two drones equipped with heat detectors are assisting in the effort. “We must find the children today. We have hope that they are alive somewhere in there,” provincial Gov. Narongsak Osottanakorn told Reuters. The children, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach have not been heard from since entering the cave complex after practice Saturday. The search began when a mother reported her son had not returned from practice. Family members played music and performed rituals near the cave, where bicycles and soccer gear left by the team remain untouched. Some team members who had gone home after practice waited at the entrance with the loved ones of the missing. “I can’t concentrate at school knowing they are in there, so I came here,” said Sonpong Kantawong, 14, whose mother had driven him home from practice Saturday. More:Thai officials believe 12 boys missing in cave are alive Heavy rains pushed the water level inside the cave above 20 feet Tuesday, and authorities said more pumps would be installed to flush water from the cave. The muddy water has filled some of the caves' chambers, with the rising waters forcing brief halts to the mission. “We will try to find passages which are under the water that hopefully will lead to other chambers" where the kids could breathe, Navy Lt. Naponwath Homsai told theBangkok Post. The cave is susceptible to flooding in the summer, and tourists are warned against exploring from June to November. More than a dozen Thai divers and several from Sweden are spending long hours in the cave. The cave is cut into a mountainside, and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said local authorities may drill into the mountain if necessary. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said rescuers are working around the clock. “The SEAL team will be working nonstop,” he said. “So night and day doesn’t make a big difference. They’ll just need to rotate.” Contributing: The Associated Press<doc-sep>(CNN) — Senior Thai government officials warned Wednesday that time is running out to rescue teenage boys and their soccer coach, believed trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for days, and that the search to find other entry points into the cave system has taken on a new urgency. “We will try to find other ways apart from underwater rescue because the clock is ticking,” Thai Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said. “The boys (have) been in there for over 72 hours.” Rescue teams are working on access to the Tham Luang Nang Non caves from other locations above and have used new maps from the Thai Department of Mineral Resources to narrow the search area. Heavy rains have halted helicopter sorties to find possible alternative entrances into the caves, and there has been no drone activity either. But the interior minister said he was confident that the missing boys and their coach were likely alive, as they have food, and, as athletes, are physically strong. He added they had visited the caves before, giving them an advantage. Photos emerge Photos of the missing boys have emerged as the efforts ramp up to locate them. The photos, from the Facebook page of the soccer team’s 25-year-old coach, show the older man standing with the smiling teen and preteen boys. The 12 boys range in age from 11 to 16, according to a list of names collected from families waiting at the cave entrance and distributed by officials. The group is suspected to have disappeared from that area Saturday. Akkapol Chanthawong/Facebook The soccer team lines up in a photo posted on the coach's Facebook page. No new evidence of the boys’ location or condition has been found, other than bags and shoes discovered earlier this week, army Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakum told journalists Wednesday. A joint force of about 1,000 army, navy, local administrative workers and volunteers are at the site, he said. The US government is sending experts to assist in the rescue effort, according to the army official. They were expected to land in northern Thailand on Wednesday in hopes of starting work Thursday, he said. Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osotthanakorn had earlier told families that teams are “working around the clock” to find the boys and their coach, and that rescuers are focusing on draining water to allow access to the flooded cave complex. 01:15 - Source: CNN Thailand resumes search for missing soccer team The interior minister said that officials are continuing to bring supplies to the site, including first aid kits. Missing since Saturday The group is from the city of Chiang Rai, near the caves where the boys are suspected of being trapped. They have been missing since at least early Saturday afternoon when a park officer spotted bicycles parked idly by the entrance to the cave complex despite it being off-limits. Those bikes have been gathered and grouped together as the boys’ families await news. The boys and their coach are believed to have crawled into the large series of caves through a narrow, 15-meter-long (50-foot) channel. A sign at the entrance to the cave – a popular tourist attraction – warns of danger during the rainy season, which is just getting underway. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn expressed his concerns over the missing group. In a statement from the Thai palace, the King said he “wished the rescue team early success” and conveyed his moral support. Anxious wait Relatives started gathering at the cave entrance Saturday evening, and now around 60 people sit in a makeshift tent camp set up by the local government as they anxiously await updates from officials. Drawing on traditional Thai rituals for strength, they’ve offered flowers and food to the spirits in the hopes they will guide their children out of the caves to safety. Kocha Olarn/CNN Parents of the missing boys have left food as an offering to spirits to keep their sons safe. “Come to mama … come to daddy,” some of them cry. One mother, whose nickname is Nan, has barely moved from her chair since arriving five days ago, occasionally slipping into a fitful half-sleep. KRIT PHROMSAKLA NA SAKOLNAKORN/AFP/Getty Images Relatives pray at the entrance of the Tham Luang Nang Non caves while rescuers search for the boys. Another, who goes by the nickname So, is from a hill tribe and barely speaks Thai, hampering her efforts to understand what has happened to her son. Her brother said she has barely uttered a word for days. The website of the Mae Sai Prasitsart school, which half of the boys attend, had a message for the missing students and their families: “Cheer up. … Be Safe.” Constant rain Heavy rains initially flooded the cave complex and have not let up – a steady drizzle that occasionally erupts into stronger bursts. The rainfall is hampering attempts to pump water out of the cave system, making it even more difficult for the dive teams of Royal Thai Navy SEALs, police and professional divers as they search for the boys and coach. A post on the SEALs’ Facebook page said that pumps working overnight weren’t powerful enough to reduce the water level and that heavy rain had caused further flooding, forcing rescuers to move back. The water level had risen about 6 inches per hour, the post said. Almost 50 pumps have been brought to the cave complex, from both the Royal Irrigation Department and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. At the main entrance of the cave, more pumps and hoses have been trucked in to speed up the drainage process, and rescuers are now also able to pump 24 hours a day without pause. Kamolchai Kotcha, an official with Thailand’s national parks authority, said that on Tuesday “we spotted a hole and we (dropped) a pack of food into it. But there is no response from that spot.” Still hope remains strong. Sudsakorn Sutham, the father of one of the missing boys, Prachak, said he is certain the authorities will bring the boys home. “I feel (the situation) is getting better and better.<doc-sep>MAE SAI, Thailand -- Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been missing inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand for three days. Efforts to rescue them hinge on pumping out water so that navy divers have room to operate, the first high-level Thai official to visit the site said Tuesday. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda told reporters that navy SEAL divers leading the search are seriously handicapped by muddy water that has filled some chambers of the large cave to the ceilings. The boys, aged 11-16, have been missing since their coach took them to the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex on Saturday after a practice match. The search had to be suspended again because of high water. Paojinda said the divers can proceed only when enough water is pumped out so there is space between the water and the ceiling to make it safer to work. The divers will also soon start using special oxygen tanks that provide longer diving times, he said. A SEAL diver said the water is so murky that even with lights they cannot see where they are going underwater, so they need to be able to lift their heads above the water. Family members and relatives pray as they keep vigil near the Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on June 26, 2018, while rescue personnel conduct a rescue operation for a missing children's soccer team and their coach. Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images Anupong said rescuers would be working night and day in the dark cave. "The SEAL team will be working nonstop because it's already dark here too," he said. "So night and day doesn't make a big difference. They'll just need to rotate." Divers have been seeking a way forward through the chambers of the cave complex, but have been forced to suspend their search several times. The authorities are also seeking alternative ways in, using helicopters and search parties on foot to find possible holes in the ceilings of other parts of the cave. A small glimmer of hope was dashed Tuesday afternoon after explorers found two fissures in the rock on the mountain in which the cave is located. After an evaluation, experts found neither could be used as a "chimney" to gain access to the cave. Rain that fell overnight increased the difficulty of exploring inside the cave. However, the initial chambers near the cave's entrance are dry, and a power line was extended inside to provide light and ventilation and help the divers communicate with those outside. Thai soldiers relay electric cable deep into the Tham Luang cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on June 26, 2018, during a rescue operation for a missing children's soccer team and their coach. Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images The boys and their 25-year-old coach entered the cave in Chiang Rai province late Saturday afternoon. A mother reported that her son did not return from soccer practice that day, setting off the search. Relatives of the missing boys and others performed a ritual Tuesday morning calling for those who are missing. They played drums and gongs and two relatives held fishing nets as symbols to fish out lost spirits from the cave. Organizer Jiratat Kodyee said the ritual was a traditional way of showing support for the boys' families. The cave complex extends several miles and has wide chambers and narrow passageways with rocky outcrops and changes in elevation. Still, officials have said they are hopeful the boys found a safe space away from the floods. Rising waters Monday evening frustrated efforts to search farther in the cave, and efforts were halted temporarily. During the night, rescue teams and electricians extended a power line half a mile and communication lines into the cave. "We hope this will provide lights for work and fans for ventilation for the SEAL team," Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osottanakorn said. "Also, it means we can use electric engines to pump water out of the cave as well." Parents waited overnight in tents outside the cave entrance as rain poured. Medics sat in a tent nearby, and bicycles, backpacks and soccer cleats the boys left behind remained at the entrance. At a prayer session Monday evening, some of the boys' relatives walked inside the cave entrance, where their cries echoed off the walls. "My son, come on out! I am waiting for you here!" one woman cried. Another kneeled down near the bicycles and prayed, asking "Where is my child?" Authorities have said footprints and handprints were found inside the cave complex, and that tourists trapped there by past floods have been rescued after the waters receded. Getting farther into the cave has required lots of oxygen and special diving skills, which would also complicate rescue efforts once the boys are found, officials said. The cave, cut into a mountainside near the border with Myanmar, can flood severely during the rainy season, which runs from June to October, and there are warnings against exploring then.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Thai rescue workers will drill a narrow shaft into a cave where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are believed to be trapped by flood waters, Thailand’s interior minister said on Wednesday, the fourth day of a search that has been hampered by heavy rain. The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, went missing on Saturday after soccer practice when they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex, even though it is known to be prone to flooding in the rainy season. READ MORE: Missing Thai boys believed trapped in flooded cave Thai volunteers and military teams, including 45 Navy SEAL unit members, have been deployed at the flooded cave complex, which runs 10 kilometres under a mountain in the northern province of Chiang Rai. “Tomorrow we can drill into the mountain but we won’t drill too deep. Just enough to allow people through,” interior minister Anupong Paochinda told reporters in Bangkok. Story continues below advertisement “We are trying every way to find the children,” he added. Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are trying every way to find the children," he added. While distraught relatives and friends gathered at the mouth of the cave, rescue workers pumped water out, but the persistent heavy rain has slowed their progress. “Water is the biggest challenge. There is a lot of debris and sand that gets stuck while pumping,” Army officer Sergeant Kresada Wanaphum told Reuters. WATCH: 3 rescuers at flooded Thai cave electrocuted, sent to hospital 0:31 3 rescuers at flooded Thai cave electrocuted, sent to hospital 3 rescuers at flooded Thai cave electrocuted, sent to hospital – Jun 29, 2018 “We have to switch out units because there is not enough air in there,” he added, before heading back down the cave. According to messages the boys exchanged before setting off, they had taken flashlights and some food. Apart from some footprints and marks left by their muddy hands near the cave entrance, nothing has been seen or heard of them since Saturday evening, and the race to find them has dominated Thai news cycles. Story continues below advertisement “I’m confident all are still alive,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters. ‘Massive amounts’ of water Vern Unsworth, a British cave explorer based in Chiang Rai who has joined the search, said a lot of water was seeping into the cave from two directions. “There is a watershed inside, which is unusual, it means there is water coming in from two directions,” Unsworth told Reuters. “The biggest challenge is the water. Massive amounts.” WATCH: Search continues for boys soccer team missing in flooded cave in Thailand 0:56 Missing Thai boys believed trapped in flooded cave Missing Thai boys believed trapped in flooded cave – Jun 25, 2018 Three foreign divers coming from Britain were expected to reach Thailand on Wednesday evening to join the search, the interior minister said. Thailand has asked the United States for survivor detection equipment, said Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat. Story continues below advertisement “We hope this equipment will allow us to locate the spots that we need to reach faster,” Weerasak told reporters. A guidebook described the Tham Luang cave as having an “impressive entrance chamber” leading to a marked path. It then describes the end of the path and the start of a series of chambers and boulders. View image in full screen Thai military officials, the rescue workers and park officials inform associated officials of their plan in regards to the rescue operation for missing football players and their coach at the Tham Luang cave in Tham Luang Khun Nam Nang Noon Forest Park in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 27 June 2018. Tha. EPA/PONGMANAT TASIRI “This section of the cave has not been thoroughly explored. After a couple of hundred metres the cave reduces in size to a mud-floored passage 2 meters wide and 3 meters high,” author Martin Ellis wrote in ‘The Caves of Thailand Volume 2’. Nopparat Kantawong, the head coach of the team who did not attend practice on Saturday, said the boys had visited the caves several times and was hopeful that the boys would stick together and stay strong. Advertisement<doc-sep>
Thai rescue workers will drill a narrow shaft into a cave where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are believed to be trapped by floodwaters, the interior minister said on Wednesday, the fourth day of a search that has been hampered by heavy rain. The boys, between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach went missing on Saturday after soccer practice when they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex, even though it is known to be prone to flooding in the rainy season. Thai volunteers and military teams, including 45 navy SEAL unit members, have been deployed at the flooded cave complex, which runs 10 kilometres under a mountain in the northern province of Chiang Rai. "Tomorrow we can drill into the mountain but we won't drill too deep. Just enough to allow people through," Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda told reporters in Bangkok. "We are trying every way to find the children," he added. Desperate search continues for missing Thai children News 1:12 Soccer team and coach believed to be trapped in cave system 1:12 While distraught relatives and friends gathered at the mouth of the cave, rescue workers pumped water out, but the persistent heavy rain has slowed their progress. "Water is the biggest challenge. There is a lot of debris and sand that gets stuck while pumping," army Sgt. Kresada Wanaphum told Reuters. "We have to switch out units because there is not enough air in there," he said, before heading back down the cave. The biggest challenge is the water. Massive amounts. - Vern Unsworth, British cave explorer According to messages the boys exchanged before setting off, they had taken flashlights and some food. Apart from some footprints and marks left by their muddy hands near the cave entrance, no one has been seen or heard of them since Saturday evening, and the race to find them has dominated Thai news cycles. "I'm confident all are still alive," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters. 'Massive amounts' of water Vern Unsworth, a British cave explorer based in Chiang Rai who has joined the search, said a lot of water was seeping into the cave from two directions. "There is a watershed inside, which is unusual, it means there is water coming in from two directions," Unsworth told Reuters. "The biggest challenge is the water. Massive amounts." Water is pumped from the flooded cave on Wednesday as rain continues to fall in the area. (Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press) Three foreign divers coming from Britain were expected to reach Thailand on Wednesday evening to join the search, the interior minister said. Thailand has asked the United States for survivor detection equipment, Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat told reporters. "We hope this equipment will allow us to locate the spots that we need to reach faster." A guide book described the Tham Luang cave as having an "impressive entrance chamber" leading to a marked path. It then describes the end of the path and the start of a series of chambers and boulders. "This section of the cave has not been thoroughly explored. After a couple of hundred metres the cave reduces in size to a mud floored passage 2 metres wide and 3 metres high," author Martin Ellis wrote in The Caves of Thailand Volume 2. Team head coach Nopparat Kantawong, who did not attend practice on Saturday, said the boys had visited the caves several times, and he was hopeful that the boys would stick together and stay strong. "They won't abandon each other."