MAE SAI, Thailand -- A Thai governor said early this morning that rescue workers have begun the operation to recover 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach from deep inside a cave where they have been trapped for two weeks.
Narongsak Osatanakorn, acting governor of Chiang Rai province, told reporters "today is D-Day" with 13 foreign and five Thai divers taking part in the rescue.
He said the divers went in early this morning, and the boys will gradually come out accompanied by two divers each. He said the earliest they will come out is 9 a.m. Central.
The only way to bring them out is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air.
Experienced cave rescue experts consider an underwater escape a last resort, especially with people untrained in diving, as the boys are. The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages.
But the governor supervising the mission said earlier that mild weather and falling water levels over the past few days had created optimal conditions for an underwater evacuation that won't last if it rains again.
Before the announcement this morning, Thai authorities had asked media to leave the area around the entrance of the cave, fueling speculation that a rescue attempt was imminent.
The boys, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach have been trapped since June 23, when they went exploring in northern Thailand's Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a practice game. Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days.
Earlier efforts to pump out water from the cave have been set back every time there has been a heavy downpour.
Narongsak said experts told him flooding from new rain could shrink the space where the boys are sheltering to just 108 square feet -- less than half of a one-car garage.
"I confirm that we are at war with water and time from the first day up to today," he previously said. "Finding the boys doesn't mean we've finished our mission. It is only a small battle we've won, but the war has not ended. The war ends when we win all three battles -- the battles to search, rescue and send them home."
The boys sounded calm and reassuring in handwritten notes to their families that were made public Saturday. The notes were sent out with divers who made an 11-hour, back-and-forth journey to act as postmen.
One of the boys, identified as Tun, wrote: "Mom and Dad, please don't worry, I am fine. I've told Yod to get ready to take me out for fried chicken. With love."
"Don't be worried, I miss everyone. Grandpa, Uncle, Mom, Dad and siblings, I love you all. I'm happy being here inside, the navy SEALS have taken good care. Love you all," wrote Mick.
"Night loves Dad and Mom and brother, don't worry about me. Night loves you all," wrote Night, in the Thai manner of referring to himself in the third person.
The most touching note came from one boy whose name was not clear: "I'm doing fine, but the air is a little cold, but don't worry. Although, don't forget to set up my birthday party."
Another, of indistinct origin, asked their teacher not to give them a lot of homework.
In a letter of his own, the coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, apologized to the boys' parents for the ordeal.
"To the parents of all the kids, right now the kids are all fine, the crew are taking good care. I promise I will care for the kids as best as possible. I want to say thanks for all the support and I want to apologize to the parents," he wrote.
An update Saturday from the Thai navy said three SEALs were with the boys and their coach, one a doctor. The 13 received health evaluations and rehabilitation, and were being taught diving skills. Food, electrolyte drinks, drinking water, medicine and oxygen canisters have been delivered to them. A major concern of the rescuers is that oxygen levels in their safe space could fall dangerously low. Rescuers have been unable to extend a hose pumping oxygen all the way to where the boys are.
The death on Friday of a former Thai navy SEAL, Saman Gunan, underscored the risks of making the underwater journey. The diver, the first fatality of the rescue effort, was working in a volunteer capacity and died on a mission to place oxygen canisters along the route to where the boys and others are sheltered.
Rescuers had also been pursuing other options to extract the boys in the hope that finding a shaft or drilling into the mountain in which the cave is located would lead them to a sort of back-door entrance.
Before the rescue effort was announced, tech billionaire Elon Musk sent a team of engineers to Thailand to see if they can help in the rescue effort. A spokesman for Musk's Boring Co. who declined to be named said it is in talks with the Thai government and people on the ground to determine how they could best assist their efforts.
A Section on 07/08/2018