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 As 12 boys and their soccer coach wait to be rescued from a submerged cave in northern Thailand, officials may be forced into action due to expected heavy rains in the coming days. The situation is grave, given a medical assessment claiming the boys and coach are too weak to attempt such a physically demanding escape. 
 
 
 
 It’s monsoon season in Thailand, but cave rescuers have been blessed with a brief dry spell, making the next 24 hours all the more critical. The rains are expected to start on Friday, turning into a deluge by Sunday. Earlier today, the Chiang Rai provincial governor said the mission is now in a “race against the water,” AFP reports. 
 
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 “Our biggest concern is the weather,” he told reporters. “We are calculating how much time we have if it rains, how many hours and days.” 
 
 Water levels have dropped appreciably over the last several days, thanks to the weather and the herculean efforts of rescue officials, who have managed to pump out 34 million gallons (128 million liters) of water from the submerged cave complex. Water levels are currently falling at a rate of 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) per hour, and rescuers can now walk through a 0.9 mile (1.5 km) stretch from the entrance to an area known as the Third Chamber, the BBC reports. 
 
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 Twelve members of the youth soccer team, ranging in age from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach, ventured deep into the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on June 23, but heavy rains flooded the caves, trapping them inside. The “Wild Boar” team was discovered by expert divers nine days after they went missing, and they’re currently huddled on a steep, muddy rock some 2.5 miles (4 km) from the mouth of the cave. Medical teams are now attending to the boys, handing out food, medicine, and foil blankets, along with providing emotional care. 
 
 
 
 Ideally, enough water could be pumped out from the cave such that the boys could wade through or swim out (or at least be “floated”) from the cave complex. Reducing water levels in the cave could also minimize the amount of time the boys would have to spend underwater. Most of the boys don’t know how to swim, and they have no experience with scuba diving. But given the grim weather forecast, and concerns that the space where boys are located could become inundated with water, rescuers may be forced into action. 
 
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 This added urgency is unfortunate. Some members of the Thai Navy SEALS, who spoke to the media without authorization, said the plan is far too risky, CNN reports. Expert divers require around six hours to reach the boys, and around five hours to get back to the entrance. There are several air pockets along the route, but there’s virtually no visibility, the water is rushing in some places, and some regions are so narrow that scuba gear has to be removed from the divers’ backs so they can squeeze through. At the same time, an updated doctor’s report claims the boys are suffering from exhaustion and malnutrition, and that they’re in no shape for such an arduous escape attempt, according to CNN. 
 
 
 
 Thirteen sets of diving equipment have already been assembled should it come to that, and the boys are already being taught the rudiments of scuba diving. In addition to a helmet, wetsuit, and boots, the boys would be equipped with a full-face mask fitted specially for children. Should the boys and coach have to be evacuated in a hurry, they’d be guided through the water along a static line that’s already been installed. The boys would be led to safety by a team of expert divers who would be positioned at strategic points along the route. 
 
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 As officials weigh their options, other plans have been set into motion. Oxygen is now being pumped into the air pocket where the boys are huddled, and a communication line is being built to connect the team to the outside world—including to their parents. Outside of the cave, hundreds of workers, many of whom are volunteers, have assembled to help, handing out water bottles in the summer heat, preparing food, and doing whatever they can to help. 
 
 
 
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 Plans to drill into the rock to create new shafts have been abandoned. Instead, around 20 to 30 teams are currently scouring the mountainside in search of alternative natural entrances, called chimneys, into the cave complex. They’ve also enlisted bird-watchers, who may be able to spot birds entering or exiting hidden holes, according to AFP. 
 
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 The Tham Luang Nang Non cave system is normally flooded during this time of year, and it doesn’t fully drain until September or October. One extreme possibility is that the boys and their coach will have to wait it out until then. But this presents a slew of new considerations, such as the psychological well-being of the children, issues of hygiene, and the ongoing threat of further flooding. 
 
 All eyes will be on northern Thailand over the next day or two as the heavy rains approach. The time for a tough decision is looming. 
 
 [CNN, BBC, AFP] ||||| Hundreds of pumps clearing water along 4km path in hope of avoiding need for scuba gear 
 
 Thai rescuers say 12 boys trapped deep inside a cave complex may be able to walk out, provided the route can be drained before the monsoon showers predicted for the weekend. 
 
 A military operation in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex is employing hundreds of industrial pumps to drain the water along the 2.5-mile (4km) path from the entrance to the area where the children and their football coach have been sheltering for 12 days. 
 
 Poonsak Woongsatngiem, a rescue official with Thailand’s interior ministry, told the Guardian the water had been reduced by 40% in the past few days, clearing a 1.5km stretch of dark, jagged and muddy cave channels that the boys would need to traverse. 
 
 The focus of Thursday’s operations is a third major basin along the route, Woongsatngiem said. The boys, who are not strong swimmers, are being trained in how to dive using scuba equipment. But forcing them to exit through the water is considered very risky. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Soldiers and rescue workers walk past water pumped out of the cave complex. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters 
 
 “We [are] target[ing] the water in the third chamber to reduce to the point that no diving equipment is needed, like to the waistline, so one can wear just life jackets and walk out,” Woongsatngiem said on Thursday. 
 
 Clearing the third basin would leave another 2.5km of path to the boys, whose ages range from 11 to 16. A Chinese diver at the site, Wang Ying Jie, said about half that remaining path would be walkable in the right conditions; the maximum water depth they would need to cross is about six metres. 
 
 It is unclear how long the remaining area would take to drain, but monsoon rains are predicted for Saturday and would quickly refill the cave complex, potentially cutting the boys off for months. 
 
 Rain was the biggest worry, said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai province, who is coordinating the rescue efforts. “We were racing against time before we found them,” he said. “Now we’re racing against water. It keeps seeping through the cave.” 
 
 A fibre-optic cable was being laid inside the cave and would reach the boys soon, he added, so the children would be able to speak to and possibly see their parents on video. 
 
 
 
 Wang said most of the boys remained in good health but three had intestinal issues and were in some pain. Divers were positioned at the third basin waiting to ferry medicine to the children. 
 
 With wet weather looming, authorities are also calculating how long they are willing to allow rescuers to remain in the cave before they order an evacuation. 
 
 Updates on the condition of the boys and the water levels were being slowed by the length of the journey to reach the children. “It’s about 11 hours – six on the way from the entrance to where the kids are and five on the way back,” he said. 
 
 Play Video 1:00 Chilean miner has message of hope for trapped Thai boys – video 
 
 He said the boys and their 25-year-old coach had started practising diving but did not confirm whether they would try to bring any out on Thursday. Those considered strong enough to go could do so first, he said. “They don’t need to be brought out as a team,” Osatanakorn said. “Whosoever is ready can come out first.” 
 
 
 
 Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued? Read more 
 
 Officials were also scouring the jungle above the complex to find new openings that could be drilled to extract the boys more easily. The children were breathing, he said, so there was very likely a shaft somewhere to the top. 
 
 “We have around 20 to 30 teams surveying on top to find the closest and most precise spot,” he said. 
 
 One Thai navy Seal member who spent time with the boys said they “were always asking about the World Cup. I told them that all the big teams had gone home.” 
 
 Additional reporting by Veena Thoopkrajae in Mae Sai and the Associated Press ||||| Chiang Rai, Thailand (CNN) Families are nervously awaiting news of 12 missing boys and their soccer coach Tuesday as rescuers search a partially flooded cave complex in northern Thailand where the group is thought to have been trapped since the weekend. 
 
 Most of the boys' parents are at a makeshift camp near the Tham Luang Nang Non caves and have not left the area since they learned their children were missing on Saturday. 
 
 "I feel I have just lost my heart because I just found his bag, mobile phone and his shoes. But all I can do is just wait," said Sudsakorn Sudtham, 35, whose son, Prajak, is 14. 
 
 The parents of the missing boys have been at the site near Chiang Rai since Saturday. 
 
 The group, all belonging to the same soccer team from the nearby city of Chiang Rai, have been missing since 1 p.m. Saturday when a park officer spotted something amiss -- bicycles parked idly by the entrance to the cave despite it being off-limits. 
 
 They are believed to have crawled into the large series of caves through a narrow, 15-meter-long (50-foot) channel. 
 
 Another anxious parent, Pinyo Bhodhi, 37, said he became worried when his son, Pipat, 15, hadn't returned home Saturday evening -- the day before his birthday. 
 
 He told CNN he'd arranged a party and a cake for Pipat, a keen soccer player who "trains every day" and has dreams of being on the Thai national team, on Saturday night. 
 
 When Pipat failed to come home, his father started calling around to his son's friends, teammates and coaches. 
 
 "It was already 7 (or) 8 p.m. and he hadn't returned home, (so) I started to look for him." 
 
 Soccer shoes are left next to bikes from the missing boys at the entrance of a cave in northern Thailand. 
 
 When he learned of the boys' disappearance at the caves, he rushed to the scene near Chiang Rai and has been waiting there since Saturday night. He said he discovered his son's bike outside the cave. 
 
 "When I saw his bike parked inside at the cave, my tears were just dropping. I was desperate to find my son. 
 
 "We need a miracle. I want him back." 
 
 He was looking forward to seeing his son blow out candles on his birthday cake, but now "the cake remains at home." 
 
 Pumps used to drain water from cave complex 
 
 The families sit and wait as rescuers battle heavy rains to search the flooded system of caves where the group is thought to be trapped. 
 
 Emergency services are attempting to pump water out of the cave complex after the rain flooded the caves and the passages that link them. 
 
 Rescue teams gather Monday in a deep cave where the group of boys went missing. 
 
 "We (are) drawing out water from the cave, and we're (currently) looking for more water pumps" and long cables with which to power the pumps, said Kamolchai Kotcha, an official with Thailand's national parks authority. 
 
 A team of Thai Royal Navy SEAL divers, who re-entered the cave complex early Tuesday, haven't found any trace of the children or their coach, Kotcha told CNN by phone. 
 
 A bicycle belonging to one of the missing boys is seen outside the cave complex. 
 
 However, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said that the government had not ruled out hope of finding the boys and the coach alive. 
 
 "We are still optimistic they are all alive. Even though they may not have anything to eat, they should have water to drink." 
 
 Vernon Unsworth, a spelunker who lives in Chiang Rai, said the conditions in the cave are difficult. 
 
 "The water is rising all the time. Physically it's not a hard cave; it's just very long," he told CNN from the rescue site. 
 
 "I think we just have to wait for the navy SEALs to see what they can do, how far they can go. The conditions further on will not be easy so we just have to wait and (keep our) fingers crossed." 
 
 He said a big pool of water is continually rising in a section of the cave about 3 kilometers (1.7 miles) from the entrance. The "next six to eight hours will be crucial," he said. 
 
 Kotcha of the national parks authority said around 40 chambers are inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave, "both small and big ones." 
 
 Rescuers suspect the missing boys are still in the main chamber of the cave. 
 
 Thai Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda said the divers could only work intermittently due to the restrictions of their equipment. He said the rescue team was trying to reduce the water level to prevent it from "reaching the ceiling of the passage" so there's an air pocket for the rescuers. 
 
 "The water is muddy; it has also still blocked the passage (into the chamber). The SEALs have switched from using (an) oxygen tank to a closed-circuit system," which allows them to dive up to three hours at a time. 
 
 "We are arranging more water pumps and electricity cable to drain water. Hopefully we can create some space (at the passage) for them." 
 
 Kotcha said the team is waiting for updates from the SEALs, who are trying to get through the flooded channel.
– Reports on the 12 boys trapped in a cave in Thailand along with their soccer coach have generally quoted officials as describing the group as in good health. CNN is changing that narrative somewhat, referencing a new doctor's report that described the coach and two boys as experiencing exhaustion from malnutrition and quoting an unnamed Thai Navy SEALs member who says that based on the group's health, no extraction effort will be made on Thursday. And the timeline may be tight, with CNN reporting the area is expected to be dry until Saturday, at which point the chance of rain—and rising cave waters—spikes. It notes that the current round-trip time for the divers who have reached the boys is 11 hours. But the Guardian reports hundreds of industrial pumps continue to suck water from the cave system in hopes of draining the levels to the point where the group can don life vests and cover the 2.5-mile distance out largely on foot. A rescue official says they're currently focusing on draining the third chamber to waist height; of the remaining chambers, which measure about 1.5 miles, a diver at the scene speculates about half would be walkable, with the water reaching a maximum depth of about 20 feet. Gizmodo reports the "herculean efforts" at the site have seen 34 million gallons of water pumped out, at a current rate of about 0.6 inches per hour.