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The third phase of the Thailand cave rescue is already underway to save the remaining four boys and their football coach from inside a flooded Thai cave. Narongsak Osottanakorn told a news

conference the latest rescue operation began at 10.08am (4.08am BST). He said: “All five will be brought out at the same time today.” Rescuers have already brought out eight boys after two

rescue pushes on successive days. A team of international divers and Thai Navy SEALS guided the boys during a nine-hour operation through nearly 2.5 miles of sometimes submerged, pitch-dark

channels where they have been trapped for more than a fortnight. WHAT IS THE SCIENCE BEHIND THAILAND’S STAGGERING CAVES? The Tham Luang cave where the boys have been trapped is a six-mile

long network of channels carved into the Doi Nang Non mountain range. The main rock surrounding the cave is limestone with a mixture of other sedimentary rocks. Thailand’s coastline is

mainly formed of limestone which make up the spectacular columns and cliffs along the country’s famous beaches. Rainwater is the cause of the karst structures in coastal Thailand and the

complex cave systems in northern Thailand. As rain is naturally slightly acidic, it reacts with limestone, made up of calcium carbonate and the same material used in chalk. The rain

dissolves away the limestone and this chemical reaction is the reason why six miles of the Tham Lunag cave has been dissolved.  This has created a network of channels and pathways in the

limestone rock. As rainwater has eroded away the stone, this has led to both negative and positive outcomes for the trapped boys. The erosion has created cracks in the mountain above the

caves which means water can travel down into the cave. This rainwater has ultimately trapped the football team inside the cave, as it flooded the passage, cutting off their only escape

route. Rain has not stopped for several days and rescue teams have been desperately pumping water out of the cave which had made it possible for the rescued boys to make the final leg of the

journey on foot. However, the cracks in the limestone has made it possible to supply vital oxygen to the cave, which has been at a dangerously low level since the boys entered the cave on

June 23. Unfortunately, the speed the water percolates through the cracks is much faster than air. And the oxygen levels cannon be replenished fast enough to counterbalance the football

team’s use of oxygen. The plight of the boys and their coach has drawn international attention, with divers, engineers and medics among others flying in from around the world to assist. The

boys who have been rescued so far have been quarantined from their parents because of the risk of infection. They are likely be kept in hospital for a week to undergo tests, officials said.