RACE AGAINST TIME

Thai Army Tries to Drain Cave to Save Boys Before Monsoons

Ongoing effort to free youth soccer team.

Thai authorities are in a race against the weather as they desperately attempt to drain the flooded cave where 12 boys are trapped before forecasted monsoons. A military operation in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex is using hundreds of industrial pumps in an attempt to drain the water along the 2.5-mile path from the entrance to the area where the children and their soccer coach have been stuck for 12 days. A rescue official told The Guardian the water had been reduced by 40% in past few days, clearing a 1.5km stretch that the boys would need to walk through to escape. Rescuers are now attempting to drain the water sufficiently so that the boys could wade to safety rather than be forced to swim or dive. However, monsoon rains are predicted for Saturday and would quickly refill the cave complex—a setback that could potentially cut the boys off for months. Narongsak Osatanakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai province who is coordinating the rescue efforts, said: “I’ve asked the meteorological department to check the weather forecast and report to us daily.”