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Thai Navy SEALS Searching For Teen Soccer Team Trapped In Flooding Cave

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THAILAND (CBSMiami) -- Rescuers are racing to pump water out of a flooded cave in Thailand to save 12 boys and their soccer coach who have been missing since the weekend.

Thailand's Navy SEALS have joined the search for the team of young soccer players who went into the cave with their coach after a weekend match.

They are believed to have crawled into the large series of caves through a narrow, 50-foot channel.

Monsoon rains fell and swamped the underground tunnel, trapping the boys inside.

Authorities say divers are rushing to pump out muddy water that has filled some chambers of the cave to the ceiling.

"We (are) drawing out water from the cave, and we're (currently) looking for more water pumps" and long cables with which to power the pumps, said Kamolchai Kotcha, an official with Thailand's national parks authority.

Search teams have found holes at the top of the cave which means the boys, aged 11 to 16, could be getting some air.

Their bikes and backpacks are still waiting for them at the entrance, along with their distraught parents.

Mothers begged their sons to come out, shouting, "We're waiting for you."

Officials are hopeful the boys found a safe space away from the floods in the 6-mile long cave.

One relative said, "The soccer coach is strong and healthy and will lead the kids to safety."

As rescue teams searched for a fourth night, parents prayed and performed traditional rituals at the site, using fishing nets as a symbolic way to bring back lost spirits from the cave.

Rescuers have found some of the boys' belongings farther inside the cave raising hopes that they may have fled still deeper inside to get away from the water.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said that the government has not ruled out hope of finding the boys and the coach alive.

"We are still optimistic they are all alive. Even though they may not have anything to eat, they should have water to drink."

Vernon Unsworth, a spelunker who lives in Chiang Rai, said the conditions in the cave are difficult.

"The water is rising all the time. Physically it's not a hard cave; it's just very long. I think we just have to wait for the navy SEALs to see what they can do, how far they can go. The conditions further on will not be easy so we just have to wait and (keep our) fingers crossed."

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