Twelve Thai boys and their football coach who were found alive after being trapped in a flooded cave could be stuck there for months, according to experts.
Heavy rain is expected to fall in three days which would re-flood the Thamg Luang cave in Chiang Rai.
As the schoolboys are ‘too weak to climb’ and ‘unable to swim’, the rainfall could leave the schoolboys trapped for three to four months, claimed Ben Reymenants, a Belgian diver supporting the rescue mission.
The schoolboy footballers who were missing for nine days were found alive tonight and immediately asked their British rescuers: ‘What day is it?’
Military-led divers had launched an increasingly desperate hunt for the youngsters, aged 11 to 16, who vanished during a caving expedition with their football coach on June 23.
News of the group all being found alive sparked scenes of jubilation across Thailand, where the public has nervously waited for news of the team’s fate as family members held vigils praying for their rescue.
Alive: The frightened youngsters were huddled together when the rescue team discovered them trapped in the flooded cave
The emaciated and frightened boys were found perched on rocks deep in the Thamg Luang cave in Chiang Rai in the north of the country.
Dramatic footage showed the moment two British divers, part of an international team of experts scouring the sprawling cave system for the group, first made contact.
Barely believing their success, one of the divers asked: ‘How many of you [are there]?’ When one boy replied ‘thirteen’, the rescuer exclaimed: ‘Thirteen? Brilliant!’
They reassured the group, who were huddled together with their coach with baggy football shirts pulled over their knees, that more help was on the way.
But the youngsters’ ordeal was continuing tonight as specialist teams made plans of how to remove them from the cave given their physical condition. Experts said it could take two hours to free each of the trapped group.
Thai Navy seals have found all 12 boys and their football team coach alive after nine days of desperate searching in Thai caves
The starving children were ‘too weak to eat’ and are now being treated at the scene by medics, according to Chang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn
This photograph was released by a parent after hearing the news their child had been rescued
In the footage, one of the divers urges the group to stay calm and reassures them ‘many, many people are coming… we are the first’.
The trapped children’s responses reveal they had no idea what day it was or how long they’d been missing.
They asked the divers – tonight named as Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, both global experts in rescue and recovery work in caves: ‘What day is it? What day you come help me?’
The rescuers replied: ‘Monday. One week and Monday. You have been here nine days. You are very strong, very strong.
‘Navy Seals will come tomorrow with food, doctor and everything. Today you have a light? We will give you more lights.’
Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn confirmed the group had been found alive but claimed the operation was far from over.
He said: ‘We will bring food to them and a doctor who can dive. I am not sure they can eat as they have not eaten for a while.’
Meanwhile family members of the missing rejoiced after hearing the news. They were pictured celebrating and hugging each other after the confirmation.
Family members smile after hearing the news that their missing boys have been found alive after a nine day search
A mother rejoices as she’s told her child will be coming home after being trapped in a flooded cave for more than a week
Worried family members have finally got peace of mind after being told their children are alive and will be coming home
Men embrace after hearing confirmation that their children have been found alive in a cave in northern Thailand
The boys, aged 11 to 16, are with their 25-year-old coach. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on June 23
Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of missing 11-year-old Chanin, said she would cook her son a Thai fried omelette, his favourite food, when he returns home.
Their relief comes after a nine-day international search effort launched when the team went missing on June 23 inside the Tham Luang cave.
The boys are aged 11 to 16 and were on a trip with their 25-year-old coach from their team Moo Pa, Thai for Wild Boar. They disappeared when flooding blocked all of the cave’s entrances.
Pictured: The Hero Brit divers who found football team
Richard Stanton, Robert Harper and John Volanthen made up the heroic British team who led the way in finding the young team.
The Brit trio are global experts in exploring underground systems and were sent ‘because they are the best’ for the job.
They were provided with equipment from Derbyshire Cave Rescue.
When they were dispatched British Cave Rescue Council vice chairman Bill Whitehouse said: ‘They are experienced and able.
‘They have been all over the world.’
Three British cave-divers, Richard William Stanton (left), John Volanthen (in blue) and Robert Charles Harper (wearing orange) get ready to enter the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai
Major Buncha Duriyapan, commander of the 37th Military District in Chiang Rai, said the three Brits got to work as soon as they landed.
He said: ‘The expert divers went straight from the plane into the cave to make an assessment.’
When asked about the mission, one of the divers, John Volanthen simply told the BBC: ‘We’ve got a job to do.’
Last night Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation said: ‘The 13 missing people in a cave in Thailand have been found and are all OK.
‘We know there is still a lot of work involved for the evacuation, but for now we can take a moment to appreciate the huge international effort that has led to this point and say a huge congratulations to all involved.’
They later added: ‘Such fantastic news today that the 13 have been found, all well and all together. What a great team!
‘We have been receiving a lot ‘thank yous’ which we don’t think are really for us.
‘The British Cave Rescue Council organised the British cave divers to support the Thai operations – not us personally.
‘However we are members of the BCRC and as they do not have a facebook page so we will be sure to pass along all your thanks and good wishes!’
In 2004 Mr Volanthen and Mr Stanton set a new record after cave-diving 76 meters (249ft).
The pair broke the previous record, set in 2003, by 5.5 metres (18ft) thanks to a breathing system they developed for the attempt at Wookey Hole in Somerset.
In a previous interview Mr Volanthen, an IT consultant from Bristol, said he started caving as a scout.
He told the Sunday Times magazine: ‘I enjoy the logistical challenge.
‘Getting us and all our kit to the end of such a long cave… it’s like that puzzle with the fox, the chicken and the grain.
‘It’s not dangerous if you do it right. There are just a large number of little things that you have to be on top of at all times.’
A Thai provincial governor has said that all 12 boys and their coach have been found alive in a cave after they went missing over a week ago
Thai soldiers carrying equipments inside the flooded cave complex during a rescue operation for the missing team
Narongsak said the passageway the divers were making their way through goes upwards in some places and downwards in others and is extremely narrow, making it difficult for divers to fit through with all their gear.
They were repeatedly blocked by rising water that has filled sections of the cave and forced them to withdraw for safety reasons.
When water levels dropped on Sunday, the divers went forward with a more methodical approach, deploying a rope line and extra oxygen supplies along the way.
Soldiers and rescue workers work near Tham Luang cave complex today before they were found alive
Rescue divers spent much of today making preparations for what ended up being the final push in their search in the cave in northern Thailand
A crowd of Thai school children are seen on the grounds of Mae Sai Prasitsart school, near Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai province, following prayers for the missing boys today
Thai Navy SEAL divers and rescue workers from other countries made initial progress through the narrow passageway earlier today
Thai soldiers carrying equipment inside the flooded cave complex during a rescue operation for the boys and their coach
Rescue divers spent much of today making preparations for what ended up being the final push in their search in the cave in northern Thailand.
Chiang Rai’s governor said the divers had concentrated on securing a rope line and placing oxygen tanks along the narrow passageway that they thought would lead them to the boys.
Thai Navy SEAL divers and rescue workers from other countries made initial progress through the narrow passageway earlier today.
Public anticipation for the rescue had been high since Sunday, but officials avoided setting a timetable for the search and rescue operation.
Other efforts focused on finding shafts on the mountainside that might serve as a back door to the blocked-off areas where the missing may be sheltering.
Experts in cave rescues from around the world continued to gather at the site and combined their resources. An official Australian group followed a US military team, British cave experts, Chinese lifesaving responders and several other volunteer groups from various countries.
Chiang Rai’s Governor Osatanakorn said the divers had concentrated on securing a rope line and placing oxygen tanks along the narrow passageway that they thought would lead them to the boys
Public anticipation for the rescue has been high since Sunday, but officials avoided setting a timetable for the search and rescue operation
Teams have been combing the mountainside looking for fissure that might lead to such shafts. Several have been found and explorers have been able to descend into some, but so far it is not clear whether they lead to anywhere useful
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