US sends special equipment for cave search
A two-pronged rescue effort is underway at the huge Chiang Rai where 12 young soccer players and the coach have been missing since last Saturday with the US Pacific Command sending a Sea Scooter and Ultra Sonic Sensor to help Thai Seals go through the muddy floodwater, Sanook.com and the Thai-language daily Matichon reported this morning (June 29, 2018).
A huge amount of muddy floodwater with very low visibility continues to block the entrance to cave and continuous rain is causing it to rise to the ceiling sometimes.
This is had prevented Thai Seals (Sea, Air and Land Teams) from going in to an area of the 7-kilometer-long cave called Pattaya beach. However the equipment sent by the US Pacific Command would help with underwater navigation.
Rescuers also searched for air holes atop the cave and found 9 of them on the right side. While 3 were blocked, 3 others are likely connected to the cave while the remaining 3 have yet to be checked.
Yesterday a rescuer managed to go down 20 meters of one of the air holes but had to come up again because of lack of equipment. However a Parachute Police Rescue Squad team is on its way there with the needed equipment.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya and Interior Minister Gen Anupong Paochinda have reached Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district to give encouragement to the families of the young football players lost in the huge cave, Thai News Agency reported.
CAPTIONS:
Top and below: Rescue effort underway outside the huge cave. Photos: Sanook.com
First in-text: Thai and foreign experts holding talks on ways to rescue the young soccer players and their coach. Photo: Matichon
Second in-text: Gen Ritthee Urnthrawuth, head of the Cyber Committee at the Defense Ministry, thanked Colonel Larry J. Redmon, Army Attaché at the American embassy, for the equipment the US Pacific Command sent to help in the cave rescue yesterday. Photo: Matichon
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