Third mission underway to rescue final 5 from Thai cave

Eight boys were rescued in the first two days of the operation – four on each day. As with the previous rescue efforts, 19 divers have gone into the cave, with two divers escorting each of the boys out of the cave with tethers.

Apart from the coach, the age ranges given by the doctor indicate that the youngest boy in the group – 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueng – is still in the cave.

The boys brought out of the cave Sunday and Monday are being treated in a hospital in Chiang Rai, but are being kept in quarantine for now by doctors concerned that they could contract or spread infection.

At a news conference Monday, former Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said the second rescue involved numerous same divers who brought the four boys out on Sunday.

Manning paid tribute to former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, who died after delivering oxygen tanks in the cave.

Finally, Elon Musk tasked SpaceX engineers with crafting a special tiny submarine that could be used during the rescue, and the tech guru says the device is operational. “And we will do it faster because we are afraid of the rain”.

Later on Tuesday, however, BBC News quoted head of the rescue mission, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, as saying “the equipment they brought to help us is not practical with our mission”. Dr. Paul Auerbach, a professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, told ABC News that it could take several days for doctors to replenish the nutrients the boys lost during their cave ordeal. “But if the rain god doesn’t help, then it could be challenging”, Narongsak said.

Rescuers move today to the entrance of the cave complex where five are still trapped in Mae Sai, Thailand.

Four more boys and their coach remain trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex.

Seven divers in the rescue team are from the United Kingdom, including Rick Stanton and John Volanthen who were the first to reach the group last week.

A deluge could overwhelm efforts to lower water levels in the caves – more than 32 million gallons of water were pumped out after the boys were found alive last Monday. Their friends were full of optimism – and worry.

Boys from the soccer team trapped inside Tham Luang cave covered in hypothermia blankets July 3 video by Thai Navy Seal. “Even when my friends have left the cave, I’m anxious about their physical wellbeing. From what I’ve seen in the clip, they did look skinny”, he said. The fate of the boys and their coach has gripped Thailand and drawn global media attention.

The four who were rescued previously were taken to a hospital in Chiang Rai for evaluation.

The weather has cleared up to coincide with the operations today, having been raining heavily overnight.

But with oxygen levels inside dropping to unsafe lows and the prospect of heavy rains flooding the area completely, authorities decided they had to move quickly, and take the group out through the water-filled tunnels.

“We have more expertise than yesterday”, he said. It ended with their fighting cheer, adopted from the U.S. Navy: “Hooyah!” One local official told Fox News on Monday that they are hoping to finish the job in three days, suggesting that they may plan to extract the remaining trapped boys and their coach on Tuesday, which may allow time for rescuers to test out Musk’s invention.