Rescue mission chief Narongsak Osotanakorn confirmed the rescue mission’s third day began at 10.08am local time, 19 divers are involved today and water levels are stable (despite the rain).
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"To not waste time, because of the rain conditions, the third mission has been planned and prepared since early this morning," he said.
Key points from the press conference held by rescue mission chief Narongsak Osotanakorn and the Public Health Doctor of Chiang Rai, Dhosthep Boonthong:
- The rescue mission got under way at 10.08am, Thai time [1.08pm AEST] on Tuesday.
- Narongsak said that because heavy rain is now falling, they have decided "not to waste time because of the rain conditions, for the third planned mission." The third rescue attempt has been planned since early this morning.
- Tuesday's rescue mission may take longer because there are four boars, one coach, three Seals and one Thai army doctor who all have to be evacuated from the Tham Luang cave.
- Narongsak: "if everything goes right, we will see four kids and the doctor and the [three] Seals that have stayed with the kids all come out. Four, plus one coach so it’s five and the doctor and three Seals, so all of them".
- There are 19 divers, up from 18, involved in this final operation.
- "Those not involved in the mission are not allowed in [to the cave], only medical teams and divers," Narongsak says.
- Confirmation that of the first four boys rescued, aged 14 to 16, two have some signs of pneumonia. The other two "are in strong and good condition, but we are still watching them. We are doing tests and we are waiting 24 to 48 hours for the results", Narongsak says.
- The second group, aged 12 to 14, "are fine, but some of them had low body temperatures" when they came out, Narongsak says.
- The first four boys met their parents and close relatives through a glass window that has quarantined them yesterday; the next four boys
- taken out are expected to meet close families on Tuesday evening, under similar quarantine conditions.
- The boys will not meet their parents outside quarantine conditions for up to a wek, depending on the test results.
What we know so far
- All five remaining are expected to be rescued tonight, plus four others to evacuate the cave
- The day-3 rescue mission began just after 1pm AEST but may take longer than previous days as there are more people to evacuate
- The rescued boys will remain in hospital for a week for testing and health checks. Two have lung infections.
- Experts have highlighted the difficulties of the last rescue
