Rescuers have begun the difficult task of attempting to free a trapped Thai soccer team from a flooded cave, a potentially dangerous process that could take months to complete.
Officials are considering several options to rescue the twelve boys and their coach, including diving the youth team to safety, even though it is believed the boys don't know how to swim.
On Wednesday, Thai Navy SEALs started teaching the boys how to swim and scuba dive, so they can be escorted out of the cave.
It's been more than 36 hours since the 12 boys and their soccer coach were located in the Thai cave network -- a new video shows them wrapped in foil blankets, introducing themselves and saying, "I am healthy." https://t.co/s11DYSVYIz pic.twitter.com/Y3Omry7NtK
— CNN (@CNN) July 4, 2018
Authorities say the terrifying journey through narrow passages and murky waters could take four-hours to complete.
Another option is to keep the boys in the pitch-black cave for several months until water levels subside.
Capt. Akanand Surawan, a commander with the Royal Thai Navy, said the soccer team has been supplied with four months' worth of food.
“The water level in the cave is still very high, so we have to teach them how to swim to come out from there,” provincial governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters. “We will give them diver masks but only the rescue teams can decide whether they can be brought out safely in this way."
Officials are growing concerned over monsoon rains that are expected in the area later this week.
"Time is not on our side. We're expecting heavy rain in three days," Belgian diver Ben Reymenants told BBC News. "If the cave system [floods] it would make access impossible to the kids."
The Thai Navy released a video on Facebook showing the moment the group was found alive by British divers on Monday.
WATCH: The moment a trapped soccer team were found in a cave in Thailand. #9News Read more: https://t.co/UTpKsWNDGS pic.twitter.com/GwBXVVW6Mh
— Nine News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) July 3, 2018
It is estimated that the boys and their coach, who have been trapped for 12 days, are 1.24 miles from the mouth of the cave and about 0.6 miles below the surface.
How can rescuers get 12 boys and their soccer coach out of a flooded cave in Thailand?https://t.co/SjTUvaokqs pic.twitter.com/CpPx8cUfOD
— ABC News (@abcnews) July 3, 2018
The team, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, became trapped on June 23 after heavy rains flooded the Tham Luang Nan Non caves in Chiang Rai, a popular tourist attraction in the region.
Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in a cave in Thailand after going missing nine days ago, an official says. Follow live updates: https://t.co/Woh972K2w3 pic.twitter.com/49oTabfxzW
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 2, 2018
The group has received medical treatment and food, and are said to be in stable condition.
A phone line has also been installed so the boys can speak to their families.
"They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor," Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai navy's special forces, told reporters. "No need to worry. We will look after them as well as we can. We will bring them out safely."