It's starting to rain on the mountainous hills and caves, which still have too much water from previous floods to allow for Plan A: the transfer of the boys from the small cave of Nern Nom Sao, near the famous "Pattaya Beach," to the diving base 500 meters ahead. These are the most difficult meters, even if they are only a small part of the complete journey of nearly 4 kilometers to the exit and safety. When this will happen is unknown and depends both on the physical condition of the 13, which must be not only good but excellent, and on the water level, which continues to be more or less stable, leaving the great unknown of what will happen when the heavy monsoons resume. Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn explained that as an alternative, 18 holes have been drilled on the side and above the presumed ceiling of the refuge cave, but one would be needed "at least 600 meters deep, perhaps more (impossible to calculate precisely at the moment, he said), which could require up to two months of drilling. If this were feasible, it would still be a quicker alternative to the third option, which involves a very long wait. "The ideal time to get them out would be well after the end of the monsoons, between December and January," Osatanakorn specified yesterday. This is the first time the senior official in charge of the rescue effort has indicated such a clear and distant date in case there isn't time to technically prepare the boys and their coach to go out with scuba tanks before the new rains that will certainly fill the cave cavities, making exiting with diving suits an impossible mission. Among the most negative notes in today's update is the further reduction in oxygen levels in the boys' cave and in cave number 3 of the Rescuers, from 23 percent measured the evening of the discovery last Monday to 15 percent two days ago and 13 percent yesterday. "If this continues, everyone risks unconsciousness due to the effects of the lack of air on the lungs and blood circulation. Therefore," said Osatanakorn, "even if we are not yet at lethal levels, we will have to increase the oxygen supply and limit the number of people in there. There are 100 people constantly coming and going, currently too many due to the limited air available and the formation of dangerous carbon monoxide."
The governor also specified that every day the coordinators meet for three, four hours and update each other to compare ideas and decide what to do, aware that "any mistake can have unpredictable subsequent consequences". "The other night for example - he explained - the water was still too high". At the end of the conference no questions are allowed. Only the officer who technically coordinates the rescuers, General Bancha Duriya Unt, seems optimistic and smiling. "We will do everything to get them out as soon as possible. No one can do the impossible, right?".
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