All the world mass media write about this news from Thailand with alarm. Last Saturday 12 young Thai footballers and their coach went on a tour of Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the late afternoon and never returned.
On Sunday, their relatives missed them and called the police. At the moment, the search has been going on for five days, many rescuers, cavers and doctors have been involved. But with every passing hour, the chances of finding the children alive are diminishing.
Presumably, children were trapped in one of the underground tunnels due to the onset of flooding. There are now heavy rains throughout this region and they greatly interfere with search and rescue operations.
The missing boys were between 11 and 15 years old. It is not known whether they had mobile phones with them or maybe the mobile connection does not catch in the place where they ended up. Since July 23, not a single signal has been received from any of the missing.
The Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex stretches for miles and has many wide chambers and narrow passages with variations in elevation. Another complication was that the main entrance to the cave, due to the water, is now inaccessible even to the rescuers and they had to look for another entrance.
The only trace from the children was their bicycles, which were found next to the cave.
At first, people tried to pump water out of the flooded entrance, but this turned out to be unrealistic, since the water level was constantly rising due to rains. The drone in the cave also could not work and all hopes are now only on volunteer divers.
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One of the groups of divers on Tuesday found traces of children in one of the halls with sand floors. The children probably stayed here to rest, but their further traces were lost.
Many parents of children are on duty at the cave and shout, calling their children by the name "Son, I'm here, I'm waiting for you!" Fearful mystical legends about this cave add to their alarm.
According to local legends, the spirit of a princess lives in this cave. Many local residents regularly visit the nearby temple dedicated to this princess in recent days.
They kneel, light candles and incense, and pray in front of a statue of a young woman in traditional pink dress in one of the halls, surrounded by flowers and other offerings. They ask her alone so that the children return home alive.
Legend has it that in ancient times, a beautiful princess fell in love with a groom and became pregnant. Knowing that their love was forbidden, they fled and eventually stopped in this cave to rest. When the groom went out in search of food, he was caught by the princess's father and killed. Upon learning of this, the princess, distraught with grief, stabbed herself and bled to death in one of the halls of the cave.
Legend says that her blood became water, which now flows through the cave. Locals believe that the spirit of the princess also protects the cave from evil people.
“We believe that all places have their own Guardian spirits, near the mountains, near houses, near caves,” says local student Nganjit Runchanok. “We cannot see them, but they can see us, so we need them respect when we visit these places. I believe the princess spirit is to blame for the disappearance of the boys, but I don't know why she was so angry with them."
