Missing junior football team alive but trapped

A young Thai team missing for nine days has been discovered alive in a flooded underground cave system in the Chiang Rai province.

The 12 boys and their coach were located in a chamber up to a kilometre below the surface. 

Tempering the good news is the warning by diving experts that it could take months to mount a successful rescue. The team became stranded when monsoon rains blocked the entrance.

Amazing footage released from the Thai Navy SEALS shows the first divers to reach the #missingboys in a Thai cave. The video shows the boys thanking the divers and asking what day it is. They were missing for 10 days. pic.twitter.com/C1GXgEPGtx

— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) 2 July 2018

Attempts to extract the team are complicated by the pending onset of the rainy season and the fact that none of the boys can swim or dive. 

Ben Reymenants, a Dutch rescuer working with the Thai authorities, told the BBC: “The issue is that time is not really on our side because they’re expecting heavy rains within three days and the cave system (could) just flood, making access impossible for the kids.”

We would like to send our congratulations to the international rescue team and the Thai Navy SEALS who have located the 12 missing boys and their coach in #Thamluangcave We are sending our thoughts and prayers for their extraction from the cave #13ชีวิตต้องรอด #ถ้ําหลวง pic.twitter.com/6Gbi54vokJ

— Zcoin (@zcoinofficial) 2 July 2018

Two British divers, part of the international rescue effort, located the stranded junior footballers and their coach who are reportedly stable and being monitored by two Thai Navy medicos.