Thailand gears up for second day of cave rescue

Bangkok, July 9 (IANS) Thai authorities on Monday were preparing for the second day of the rescue of the remaining nine boys trapped for more than two weeks in a cave in northern Thailand following a successful first operation in which four were taken out alive.

Narongsak Osottanakorn, official spokesperson for the operations, said on Sunday night in a press conference that the rescue teams would resume their tasks between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., on Monday, reports Efe news.

Rescue personnel needed to replace the compressed air cylinders used for the more than 4 km route and re-evaluate conditions in the partially flooded cave located in the northern province of Chiang Rai.

Four of the 13 schoolboys and their coach were rescued on Sunday and taken to the Chiang Rai provincial hospital where they are under evaluation.

The first boy came out at 5.40 p.m. and the second followed 10 minutes later while the other two came out after more than two hours.

The other eight boys and their coach remain in the cave where they were found on June 2 after a search and rescue mission that began 16 days ago.