MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) – Thai rescuers said they will not immediately attempt an underwater evacuation of 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach who have been trapped in a cave for almost two weeks because they have not learned adequate diving skills in the short time since they were found.
However, the official in immediate charge of the operation, Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn, indicated at a news conference Friday that if heavy rains started and appeared to be causing flooded areas in the cave to rise again, divers would try to take the boys out right away.
Thai officials had been suggesting in public statements that a quick underwater evacuation of the boys and their coach was needed because of the possibility that access to the cave could soon close again due to seasonal monsoon rains expected this weekend.
Earlier efforts to pump out water from the cave have been set back every time there has been a heavy rain.
Cave rescue specialists have cautioned against that approach except as a last resort, because of the dangers posed by inexperienced people using diving gear. The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages.