The 12 Thai boys trapped in a cave are not yet ready to make the complex dive out, the commander of the rescue mission said on Saturday, although forecast of downpour could speed up their extraction bid.
“The boys are not suitable...(they) cannot dive at this time,” Narongsak Osottanakorn, who is leading the operation, told reporters just after midnight in English.
“Now the problem is the children’s readiness to dive.” Narongsak, a former governor of northern Chiang Rai province where the cave is located, said there were no plans to pull the boys and their coach out overnight but if monsoon rains fell and water rose in the Tham luang cave over the coming days they could change their plans.
Thailand’s Navy SEAl commander earlier said rescuers may have “limited time” to attempt the tricky job of getting the group out, the first official admission waiting out the monsoon period in the cave may not be possible.
But the path to freedom is hugely dangerous for the boys, some of whom are unable to swim and have no scuba experience in an environment with low visibility that confounds even the most skilled.
An experienced former Thai Navy Seal assisting with the rescue died after running out of oxygen, raising fears that it was far from safe for the kids to make the attempt.