'Race against weather' to rescue trapped Thai children
Bangkok, July 5 : Rescuers in Thailand are racing against the weather to free 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.
"We were racing against time before we found them. Now we are racing against weather," Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said at a press conference on Thursday morning.
Heavy rains are expected to hit the Chiang Rai region soon and could see water levels rise, threatening the area of the Tham Luang cave complex, where the group has taken refuge, the BBC reported.
Chiang Rai has for the past few days experienced a brief window of dry weather.
Rescuers were now considering how best to bring the group to safety.
If the rain stops for long enough, there is a possibility that the group could walk out of the Tham Luang cave complex, or be floated out - rather than having to dive, according to Narongsak.
The total journey from the cave's entrance to the trapped group currently takes a total of 11 hours - six hours in and five hours back out.
About 128 million litres of water had been pumped out by Thursday, with the water levels coming down at an average rate of 1.5 cm per hour, reports the BBC.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on June 23. It is believed they entered the cave when it was dry and sudden heavy rains blocked the exit.
They were found on a rock shelf about 4 km from the mouth of the cave on Monday night by two British rescuer divers.
The cave complex is regularly flooded during the monsoon season which lasts until September or October.
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One dead, 20 rescued after tourist boat capsizes off Calangute beach in Goa
Panaji, Dec 25: One person died and 20 others were rescued after a tourist boat capsized in the Arabian Sea off Calangute beach in North Goa on Wednesday, police said.
The incident occurred around 1.30 pm, they said.
"A 54-year-old man died and 20 others were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after the boat they were travelling in capsized," a senior police official said.
Except for two passengers, all others were wearing life jackets, he said.
The passengers included children as young as six year old and women, he said.
Spokesman of Drishti Marine, a government-appointed lifesaving agency, said the boat capsized around 60 metres away from the coastline, resulting in all the passengers falling off into the sea water.
A family comprising 13 members from Khed in Maharashtra were among the passengers on board, he said.
On seeing the boat getting capsized, a personnel of Drishti Marine rushed to aid and called for backup, he said.
"In all, 18 on-duty lifesavers rushed to the aid of the struggling passengers and brought them to shore safely," he said.
The injured passengers were administered first aid, while those who were found to be critical were rushed to a medical facility in an ambulance, the spokesman said.
"Of the 20 passengers, two children aged six and seven each, and two women aged 25 and 55 each, were revived and hospitalised," he said, adding that two passengers on the boat were not wearing life jackets.
Goa is a popular tourist destination, especially during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The incident occurred a week after a speeding Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and crashed into passenger ferry 'Neel Kamal' off the Mumbai coast, killing 15 persons. The ferry, carrying more than 100 passengers, was on its way from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction famous for its cave temples.
