New Video Offers Glimpse of Trapped Thai Soccer Players
Provincial governor says rescue crews will not bring boys, coach out of flooded cave unless they are "100 percent" certain of their safety
Thai Navy divers released new video Wednesday of the youth soccer team who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex for nearly two weeks, as rescue crews try to come up with a way to bring them out safely. The video shows the boys wrapped in foil blankets they received when divers reached them earlier this week. The youngsters looked into the camera, pressing their palms together in a traditional Thai greeting, introducing themselves and thus assuring the world they are safe. The 12 boys -- ages 11 to 16 -- and their 25-year-old coach were found Monday huddled on a ledge deep in the Tham Luang caves in northern Chaing Rai province. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said the team might have to be taught diving skills in order to get them out, but that might prove extra difficult since some of the boys cannot swim. "The evacuation must speed up," Anupong told the . "Diving gear will be used. If the water rises, the task will be difficult. We must bring the kids out before then." But Chaing Rai Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn told reporters Wednesday officials will not not take action until they are "100 certain" conditions are safe enough to evacuate the team. Evacuation crews are continuing to try to pump water out of the cave, but more rains have been forecast later this week. The ordeal has left the 12 boys and their coach emaciated and weak. Divers have supplied them with edible high-energy gels and medicine. A few of the divers, including medics, are staying with the group in the cave. The team had been missing since June 23, when they did not return to their homes from practice. The only trace of them had been bicycles and soccer cleats found outside the entrance of the complex, and handprints along the cave walls. Heavy flooding brought on by days of heavy rains have hampered the divers' efforts to reach the team. Experts from the United States, Australia, China and Britain have assisted in the search-and-rescue efforts. The Tham Luang complex is prone to severe flooding during Thailand's rainy season, which lasts from June to October.