This Thai Youth Soccer Team Has Been Trapped In A Cave For 2 Weeks, Here’s What We Know So Far

On June 23, the Wild Boar soccer team went for an outing after playing. The group normally went on outings but this one would end in disaster, trapping the team and their coach in a cave. Although they’ve been trapped for the past 2 weeks, rescuing them isn’t an easy feat. Here’s everything we know about the team and how they came to be trapped so far.

 

The Thai soccer team, made up of 12 boys aged 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old coach, went out for an outing to Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Mae Sai Thailand. While exploring the cave, a flash flood ended up trapping them less than 1 mile under the mountain and about 2.5 miles from the cave entrance.

The cave system sits under a mountain and comprises many different tunnels.

 

Despite knowing that the team was trapped in the caves, it wasn’t until July 2 that a diving team found the boys.

The diving team included Thai Navy SEALS and 2 British divers.

 

When the boys were found, two of them and their coach were reportedly in poor health. The rest of the boys seemed to be in good health, although all of them were very hungry.

Food, medical supplies, and a line supplying oxygen were taken to the boys soon afterward.

 

Since they’ve been found a team of experts has been planning their rescue. Unfortunately, that rescue has proved to be a lot harder than anyone could have imagined.

 

The system of tunnels leading to the boys is still flooded with water and takes at least 6 hours to navigate. Parts of the tunnel also prove to be extremely treacherous and don’t allow a diver with a tank to pass through. On top of that, none of the boys know how to swim.

The rescue team has also been exploring the possibility of rescuing them from above but that too could prove difficult. Only a few of the already existing holes could be used for rescuing them but would need to be widened and drilling could take a long time to complete.

 

While the rescue team has been desperately trying to come up with a solution to save the soccer team, everyone else has been worried about the weather. Although water has been continuously pumped out of the cave system, the weather forecast has been predicting more rain that could potentially flood the cave.

At first, a possible rescue solution was to wait for the water to recede from the caves. That plan was soon put to bed because of the weather predictions of Thailand’s wet season.

 

To make matters even worse, one of the Navy SEALS that had been running supplies got trapped in the treacherous network and died. His death has made everyone even more worried about the boys and their coach.

 

Despite the tragic loss, experts have continued to plan a rescue mission and have been practicing the plan for the past couple of days.

 

On July 8, the plan was finally put into action. With the help of 13 international cave diving experts and 5 Thai Navy SEALS, 4 of the 13 people were rescued.

The boys were each strapped to two diving experts and were helped through the system.

 

The 4 boys who have been rescued so far were taken to the hospital for a checkup and are reported to be in good health.

Everyone is hopeful that the remaining 9 individuals will be successfully rescued within the next couple of days.