Mae Sai(Thailand): Rescue divers reached several kilometres inside a flooded cave roday where 12 boys and their football coach have been trapped for a week, offering a flicker of hope for the harrowing search.
There has been no contact with the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach since they went into the Tham Luang cave last weekend and were hemmed in by heavy rains that blocked the entrance.
The desperate, round-the-clock search for the team has been beset by torrential downpours that submerged tunnels near the entrance, blocking divers from going on.
But Navy SEAL divers nearly reached a T-junction in the depths of the cave just two or three kilometres (one to two miles) from where the boys are believed to be, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
Divers reached the same spot earlier in the week but were forced back by rushing floodwaters.
Water levels inside the complex labyrinth of tunnels finally dropped thanks to dozens of pumps set up to drain the pools even as heavy rain continued to pound the area near the Myanmar and Laos borders.
"The situation is better on Saturday than on Friday and the day before. Water has receded considerably and we are pumping out water in all chambers (near the entrance)," Narongsak told reporters.