MAE SAI: A newly-discovered opening to a flooded Thai cave where 12 children and their football coach have been stuck for six days raised hopes for the massive rescue operation for survivors on Friday.

The harrowing around-the-clock search for the boys has been hampered by torrential rains and fast-flowing flood waters that have cut off rescuers from where the boys are believed to be stuck.

Crying relatives have camped out at the site with chanting monks for nearly a week since the team and their 25-year-old coach went missing, desperately waiting for news.

On Friday, a rescue team entered a 40-meter-long (130 feet) chimney near the centre of the cave that led to a muddy chamber beneath, according to the governor of Chiang Rai province.

But it was not clear whether the air pocket connected to the massive Tham Luang cave where the youngster footballers are trapped.

“We cannot say exactly what we found but if we’re lucky, we might have good news... but it could be a deadend as well,” governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said.

Rescuers also lowered survival kits with food, water, medicine, a map and writing supplies into a narrow crevice.

“If they get it, they can eat the snacks and mark their spot on the map and try to float it back to the entrance,” National Police Chief General Chaktip Chaijinda said.

Teams scoured the mountain for other possible openings while drones and thermal imaging technology were dispatched to find a spot where a drill could bore a hole to the inside.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2018