FINGERS CROSSED

Thai Rescuers Intensify Search for 12 Boys Lost in Cave

The teenage soccer team has been missing inside the sprawling Tham Luang Nang Non cave for a week.

Thai authorities on Saturday intensified rescue efforts for 12 boys and their soccer coach who went missing in a sprawling cave last week. Australian military personnel joined in the search on Saturday along with other international teams, including U.S. military personnel, British experts, and Chinese rescuers. The boys, aged 11 to 16, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a soccer game on June 23 and are believed to have been trapped amid heavy flooding. Authorities remain hopeful they found a dry place inside to wait for rescuers. “Today the situation is much better and we have high hopes, and will be here all night,” Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Saturday. Heavy rains in the area halted rescue efforts earlier this week and sent water levels surging to the ceiling inside the caves. Thai divers have been able to resume their search, however, and have started off in the same area they retreated from days earlier.