Thai boys trapped in cave: Rescue diver dies as oxygen level drops to dangerous levels

The realisation that the oxygen levels have fallen to potentially dangerous levels, appears to have forced a reassessment of the situation; here is all you need to know about it.

This handout video grab taken from footage released by the Royal Thai Navy on July 4, 2018 and taken on July 3 shows Adul Sam-on (R), a member of a Thai youth football team who is trapped with 11 other children and their coach, gesturing as he sits inside the Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province. / AFP PHOTO / ROYAL THAI NAVY / Handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ROYAL THAI NAVY"

New Delhi: Tremendous pressure is mounting up on the Thai authorities as all eyes are on the rescue efforts to save the 12 young boys who are trapped in a flooded cave for a fortnight. The 12 young football players are trapped in the cave with their coach for fifteen days and are in poor health. As per reports they are in urgent need of doses of vitamins and minerals. The team was found alive after 10 days of going missing in the inundated cave. As per the government’s initial rescue plans, the boys would wait inside the cave with the rescue personnel, until the water level receded and cleared their way out. However, after the death of a rescue team member, authorities realised that they cannot be made to stay inside the cave for much longer. Authorities are now posed with the task of chalking out an effective rescue plan. The death of the former navy diver happened because of dropping oxygen levels underground. The realization that the oxygen levels have fallen to potentially dangerous levels, appears to have forced a re-assessment of the situation. Earlier the plan was to let the trapped men stay inside the cave for up to four months with a rescue team until the water level declined. How did the 12 boys get trapped? The football team of 12 boys and their coach had gone to explore the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai provoke after a match. Unfortunately, the group got trapped after monsoon rains caused flooding of the cave system that has a snaking route and a number of chambers. All of these now lie submerged with water as the region is being hit by the heaviest rainfall of the year. The young footballers are kids aged between 11-16 years, while their coach is 25 years old. The boys can neither swim nor dive, making it very difficult for an effective rescue plan. The group of 13 people was found alive 10 days after they went missing..