Mae Sai — Thai rescuers may be prodded into a complex extraction of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave, if rains hammer the mountainside, as forecast, and jeopardise the rescue mission. Thirteen sets of diving equipment have been prepared for the team, who have endured 12 nights underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. Water is being pumped out from the deluged cave round-the-clock, reducing the flooding by 1cm an hour. But with rain forecast to begin on Friday, the Chaing Rai provincial governor leading the unprecedented rescue effort conceded the mission is now "a race against the water".
"Our biggest concern is the weather. We are calculating how much time we have if it rains, how many hours and days," Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters on Thursday, without providing further details. In a sign of increased urgency, Narongsak said medics and Thai navy Seal divers are assessing whether the boys are fit and well enough to be taken o...
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