Why two boys may be left behind as Thai cave rescue starts
Two boys and their football coach, trapped in a Thai cave with nine other children, appear too weak to start the long journey out.
Rescuers are continuing to try and save the 12 Thai boys, aged between 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach trapped inside Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Chiang Rai after they went missing nearly two weeks ago.
Crews have been pumping out 100,000 litres of water each hour as the possibility of the children diving to freedom is also considered.
But a navy source has told CNN two of the boys and the coach are suffering from exhaustion. The source, who hasn’t been named, said it’s due to malnutrition and in their weakened state it could make it almost impossible for them to journey out of the cave.
It means rescuers may have to take the healthiest out first with the sick children having to wait.
A lot of them are weak due to being trapped on a muddy ledge with no natural light. Thai Navy SEALS have tended to wounds and provided food for them. They have also begun pumping oxygen into the chamber.
The journey reportedly takes six hours from the cave’s entrance to where the team and their coach are located. It takes fives hours to get back.
Earlier, Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said Wednesday that “all 13 may not come out at the same time”.
“If the condition is right and if that person is ready 100 percent, he can come out,” he said.
He said the boys have practised wearing diving masks and breathing, but they haven’t attempted any dives yet.
Soccer coach was a former Buddhist monk
The coach, named as 25-year-old Ekkapol Chantawong, is in a weakened state because he’s been sacrificing his share of food, the ABC reported.
His aunt said Mr Chantawong spent a decade as a saffron-robed Buddhist monk and believes he’s meditating while waiting for rescue, which would be calming the children.
State University of New York psychology professor Michael Poulin agreed the 25-year-old’s Buddhist faith could help the children.
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“I’d speculate it could be helpful — even if it functioned solely as a way for the children to feel like their coach was doing something to help them,” he said.
“Feeling loved and cared for is paramount.”
Stanford University’s medical school’s Paul Auerbach said “it’s very likely” the boys suffered “various degrees of anxiety, fear, confusion, vulnerability and dependency, and perhaps hopelessness” while waiting to be found by rescuers.
“Being discovered was a moment of elation,” Mr Auerbach said.
“But that is now followed by the reality that a difficult technical rescue might be necessary, which carries with it disappointment for the boys and a new set of fears.”
Thailand’s Department of Mental Health said hospitals are already making preparations to care for the boys and monitor their mental health. The department is also working with the families to prepare for how to interact with the boys once they get out, such as not digging for details about what they endured.
