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Chronology: Thai authorities rescue four boys from cave

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AFP Mae Sai
Last Updated : Jul 08 2018 | 10:35 PM IST

Thai authorities today rescued four boys among 13 trapped in a cave for more than two weeks, in a dramatic operation that involved having the children dive through dark, flooded passages.

The operation to extract the rest of the group with the help of elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs will restart on Monday after supplies are restocked, authorities said.

With fresh monsoon rains due that could flood the cave, rescuers warn the window of opportunity to evacuate the boys is "limited".

Here is a timeline of the efforts to find and free the group. - Saturday, June 23 - =====================
They are reported missing by a mother after her son does not come home that night. Local officials find bicycles locked to a fence and shoes and football boots close to the entrance. - Sunday, June 24 - ===================
Park officials and police find handprints and footprints believed to belong to the boys. Relatives start to keep a vigil outside the cave. - Monday, June 25 - ===================
Thai Navy SEAL divers enter the cave searching for the boys. Makeshift shrines are set up for parents to pray and make offerings as heavy rains continue. - Tuesday, June 26 - ====================
Divers reach a T-junction several kilometres inside the cave but are forced back by rushing floodwaters that clog a narrow crevice near an elevated air pocket called "Pattaya Beach", where the boys are believed to have retreated. - Wednesday, June 27 - ======================
A team of more than 30 American military personnel from the US Pacific Command arrive, including pararescue and survival specialists. They are joined by three British diving experts who enter the cave but quickly retreat in the face of heavy flooding. - Thursday, June 28 - =====================
The underwater rescue is temporarily halted after downpours bring fast-moving floods inside the cave. Water pumps are shipped in to drain the rising, murky floodwaters and drones are dispatched to help find new vents in the cave roof. - Friday, June 29 - ===================
Thailand's junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha visits the site, leads a meditation and jokes and cooks with relatives, asking them not to give up hope. - Saturday, June 30 - =====================
A break in the rain allows divers to reach further inside the cave but they are still a long distance from where the boys are believed to be. - Sunday, July 1 - ==================
Divers inch further into the cave, as an operating base is set up inside and hundreds of air tanks and other supplies are pulleyed in. - Monday, July 2 - ==================
Crowds at the teeming rescue site cheer the good news, but attention soon turns to the difficult task of getting the boys out safely. - Tuesday, July 3 - ===================
Much-needed food and medical supplies -- including high-calorie gels and paracetamol -- reach the boys as rescuers prepare for the possibility that they may remain in the cave for some time. - Wednesday, July 4 - =====================
Officials say the group are being taught how to use diving masks and breathing apparatuses. Teams pump out water around the clock as more rain is forecast for the days ahead. - Thursday, July 5 - ====================
In a sign of increased urgency, authorities say expected rains may force a complex rescue quicker than first thought. A team of bird's nest collectors scour the mountainside in search of new openings into the cave roof. - Friday, July 6 - ==================
Thailand's Navy SEAL commander says oxygen levels inside have dropped. He warns the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is "limited", in the first official admission that the rescue cannot wait out the monsoon rains. - Saturday, July 7 - ====================
The head of the rescue mission says more than 100 vents are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach the boys. - Sunday, July 8 - ==================

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First Published: Jul 08 2018 | 10:35 PM IST

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