Flash flood traps 12 youth soccer players in a Thailand cave

A team of teenage soccer players and their coach still appear to be trapped in a flooded Thailand cave nearly two days after they first went missing.

One player's mother reported him missing after he didn't return from Saturday practice, and police found the team's bikes outside a cave that night, The Associated Press reports. Divers have been searching for the 12 boys and their coach as rain continues to pour, and Thailand's Navy recently joined the search, per The Nation.

Thailand's rainy season is in full swing, so the cave was closed off from visitors. But the team apparently entered the cave after its regular Saturday practice anyway, ducking inside before the 5-mile-long cave started to flood, says the Bangkok Post. Divers went about 2 miles into the tunnel, which contains water as deep as 20 feet in some spots, before it got too unsafe to continue. The team is thought to be in a dry area a little farther inside the cave, says The Nation, so Navy SEALs are blasting sand out of a blocked passageway to get there from another direction.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

There's still no sign of the team, which was likely trapped by a flash flood. Rescuers thought about pumping the cave dry, but will likely wait for water levels to drop naturally, per The Nation. They've sent enough food and water down the tunnel to last the team a week. Read more about the rescue efforts at the Bangkok Post.