Over 1,000 Thai military personnel, rescuers and volunteers from Thailand and other states participated in the operation to find the missing group of children. Local media reported that the rescue team was considering several ways of getting the teenagers out of the trap. Sputnik spoke wit Sally Choopinij, communications expert for more insights on the issue.
Sputnik: So can you explain why authorities are struggling to rescue these trapped children?
Sally Choopinij: Its rainy season now in Thailand especially in the North. It’s been raining heavily for 7 days since we became aware of them missing. If you have seen the sketch of the interior of the caves, you will see that when the rain comes down the caves and blocks the exits that they would be able to out through.
There are no other ways to get out so they are trapped in there. Authorities thought that the kids would be in the area closest to the entrance, but actually they are a little bit further away. The rain and the floods are the main factors that just make all this trouble happen.
Sally Choopinij: They do have the resources to rescue them as soon as they can but I guess this can only happen as soon as we organize and take into account the nature of the rain and the nature of the caves, this is why we have to bring in a lot of experts into the rescue team.
Experts are analyzing and researching the possible ways to fix this problem and navigate the caves. When you refer to a battle against time its not just about the kids running out of food it’s also because of the floods. On the first day they just tried to figure out how to drain the water from the cave.
Sally Choopinij: I heard that there are some rescue groups coming Myanmar and also from Laos, as well as many other countries in Asia.
It’s not like we’re short of resources or hands on the ground to help these kids, but as you said it’s precipitated and there needs to be strategy and lots of experience. The more brain we can gather, the better the solution. These people are offering help and planning; finding all the possible options to rescue these kids quickly and safely.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Sally Choopinij and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik's position.
