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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThailand cave rescue: Search teams unsure how to free trapped boys
The initial relief that greeted the dramatic discovery of the trapped Thai soccer team has given way to questions over why the boys are still inside the flooded cave network and not on their way to the surface and their waiting families.
Part of the concern about attempting to bring the boys out of the cramped, pitch-black chamber where they have spent the better part of nine days is that they are around two kilometers (1.2 miles) inside the cave, and nearly a kilometer below the surface, according to rescuers.
The boys, who were found alive by British divers in the early hours of Monday morning, are now being tended to by seven Thai Navy Seals, including a doctor and nurse, Thai Navy Seal Chief Rear Adm. Aphakorn Yoo-kongkaew told reporters at a news conference late Tuesday.
"Now we have given food to the boys, starting with food that is easy to digest and provides high energy," he said. "We have taken care of those boys following the doctor's recommendation. So do not worry, we will take care of them with our best. We will bring all of them with safety. We are now planning how to do so."
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(130,156 posts)so they can attempt the journey out.
"We don't have to rush. We are trying to take care of them and make them strong. Then the boys will come out to see you guys," he said.
However, options for the rescuers working in and around the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in northern Thailand are limited.
The area in which the group remains stranded is accessible only via a narrow, flooded channel, and attempts to pump water from the cave, or find a natural opening in the roof of the chamber, have so far been unsuccessful.
Capt. Akanand Surawan, a commander with the Royal Thai Navy, said authorities would now supply the group with four months' worth of food and begin teaching the boys how to scuba dive.
Surawan's reference to four months has been interpreted as a potential sign that authorities are considering waiting until after the rainy season ends in October to begin the rescue operation.
But with heavy rain expected to continue in the coming days, rising water levels could force rescuers to act sooner rather than later.
"We believe that there is only a short break in the monsoon and all feasible options for the rescue of the boys are being considered," Whitehouse said in a statement.'