Efforts to rescue twelve boys and their football coach trapped inside a flooded cave in Thailand
are ongoing,... with officials saying it could take months for them to be extracted.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram…what's the latest?
Well Mark… the 13 have received their first food and medical treatment in 10 days.
This includes a gel with high calorie and mineral content to sustain them while rescue
plans are worked out.
Several divers, including a doctor and counsellor, have been staying with the group since they
were found on Monday.
A telephone line is also being installed so parents can speak to their children.
Officials are insisting there's no rush to get them out, stressing their physical condition
should improve first.
After that, several extraction options are being considered.
One is to wait until water levels subside, which could take months.
Water pumps are draining the caves, but heavy rain is hampering those efforts.
It's also the start of the monsoon season so there is risk of water levels rising even
higher.
Another option is to train the boys and their coach to dive through four kilometers of the
submerged cave network.
That process will also take weeks, if not months, and the group is too weak to even
attempt a dive at the moment.