Monsoonal rains falling this morning in Thailand may hasten the second step of the rescue mission to free the remaining eight boys and their coach trapped in Mae Sai caves.
In the early hours of this morning (NZT), the first four Thai schoolboys were successfully freed from the caves they had been trapped in for more than two weeks.
Rescuers extracted four of the 12 children from the cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks.
The the next phase in the rescue operation is set for around 1-2pm (NZT) today at the earliest, involving a further three trapped boys, but an update from an Australian reporter at the scene says a downpour in Thailand today is creating concerns.
"It has been raining incredibly heavy, we've had these huge monsoonal rains that have hit overnight," Channel Nine's Alice Monfries said this morning.
"They've been raining for the last four to five hours and the concern is that water is running straight back down into the cave and there are big concerns that that could in some way hamper this rescue effort.
"We know it was the concerns over the rain that forced the rescuers to hit the go button earlier on this mission so we could see, while they are ahead of schedule now, that they go even earlier again."
However, despite this anxiety about the weather, Monfries said the rescue divers and Thai Navy Seals are "certinally confident" of more successful rescue trips given the success of the first operation overnight.
Before the second rescue effort can be undertaken, the rescue divers must check their equipment, refill their air tanks and line the route again with full air tanks - which are necessary to top up their oxygen as they exit the cave structures.
There have also been conflicting reports on whether the first four boys rescued were those in the strongest physical shape, or the weakest.
"It was initially thought they were bringing out the four strongest boys, but now reports this morning they actually took out the four weakest boys first because they are the ones who require the most medical attention," Monfries said.
All the remaining eight boys and their coach are reported to be in "good health" and have a doctor and medics down in the cave with them continually assessing them.
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