Rescuers search for openings into cave

CHIANG RAI, June 28 (TNA) - Rescue work to save 12 young football players and their coach is intensified, focusing on seeking openings on the mountain to reach the end of the cave complex. A team, led by National police deputy chief Pol General Weerachai Songmetta found a new shaft, about six metres wide, which could be an alternative entrance to the cave. However, more work needs to be done to check the hole by using a drone as it is located about 10 metres high on a cliff. In another attempt to support the search mission, PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) sent drones with thermal sensors to survey alternative openings into the partially flooded cave. In the meantime, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) is planning to drill a shaft if it is found to be possible to access the fourth chamber, called Pattaya Beach at the end of the 10 –km cave complex. It is believed that 12 young football players and their 25-year-old coach are stranded there while the cave-diving mission cannot reach this chamber due to rising turbid water. (TNA)