Thai rescue diver dead after falling unconscious in cave

Agencies
July 6, 2018

Bangkok, Jul 6: A Thai rescuer died during an operation to save 12 boys and their soccer coachtrapped inside a flooded cave complex, the latest setback for a mission fraught with danger as rescue teams brace for more rain that could delay their work.

Samarn Poonan, a former member of Thailand's elite navy SEAL unit who was part of the rescue team in Chiang Rai, died on Thursday night after entering the cave to lay oxygen tanks along a potential exit route, the SEAL commander said.

“The conditions in the cave are tough,” Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, commander of the SEALS unit, told reporters on Friday.

“Once he placed the oxygen tanks he became unconscious on his way back. His buddy tried to administer first aid, when there was no response he tried to move him,” Apakorn said.

“We won't let his life be in vain. We will carry on”.

Volunteers at the Tham Luang cave in northern Chiang Rai province were shaken by Samarn's death.

“A navy SEAL just passed away last night. How about a 12-year-old boy that will have to pass through?” Rafael Aroush, an Israeli living in Thailand and volunteer who arrived at the cave site on Thursday, told Reuters.

“There will be rain and many things could go wrong. I don't want to say it, but it could be a catastrophe,” he said.

Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said on Thursday that rescuers were preparing a five km (three miles) “oxygen pipeline” as part of preparations for the group's extraction but added that the boys would not be coming out soon.

“You see we are increasing the number of people going inside the cave. So we have to fill it up with oxygen,” Narongsak told reporters.

Rescuers, including international teams, are considering alternative ways to bring the group out before heavy rains hit the country's north next week which could further hamper the rescue operation.

“We have considered many alternatives to find the most feasible ones,” Narongsak said.

Deep Water

Rescue alternatives include teaching the boys to dive and then swim out, a highly risky venture, remaining in the cave for months until the wet season ends and flood waters recede, or drilling a shaft into the cave from the forest above.

The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their assistant coach were found inside the cave on Monday, after nine days underground, hungry but in good spirits. They went missing after they set out to explore the cave on June 23.

Rescuers are deciding how to remove the group but have been slowed down by logistical issues including high water levels inside the cave and narrow, flooded passages which would require the boys to dive alone.

The Thai navy is teaching the boys the basics of diving, with a view to guiding them out through flood waters.

But getting them out won't be easy. The boys will have to be taught how to use scuba diving gear and how to navigate a cave that has frustrated even the most expert divers.

“Regarding the plan for the 13 to swim or dive, there is only one critical point which it is risky: It is where every boy has to dive alone. The point is very narrow ... It is very deep water. The distance is pretty long,” said Narongsak.

Some of the boys cannot swim.

But rescuers are considering other options including keeping the 13 inside the Tham Luang cave until the flood waters recede, at the end of the rainy season in about four months.

Others say the boys could be out in days if the weather is on their side and enough water can be pumped out of the cave to enable the boys to get out the same way they got in, on foot, perhaps with some swimming.

Another possibility would be to find an alternative way into their chamber, such as drilling a shaft into the cave from the forested mountain above.

Heavy monsoon rains are forecast for next week in most of the north, according to Thailand's meteorological department.

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News Network
July 4,2020

Maryland, Jul 4: The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide has touched 11 million, according to the latest data by the Johns Hopkins University on Saturday.
More than 523,613 people have died globally due to the infection, according to the data compiled by the university.

Though the virus is believed to have emerged from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the United States is the worst-hit country from COVID-19, which was declared as a pandemic by the WHO on March 11.

At least 129,275 people have died in the US from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally.
There are at least 2,786,178 cases of the disease in the country. The US has the highest number of cases in the world.

The second worst-hit country is Brazil, which has reported 1,496,858 lakh cases. The country's death toll stands at 61,884.

The countries around the world including the US, India, Denmark, and Italy have started the process of lifting the lockdown by easing restrictions despite the number of cases continues to rise.

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News Network
April 26,2020

Seoul, Apr 26: A train presumed to belong to North Korean's Kim Jong-un has been spotted at a station in the state's eastern coastal town of Wonsan amid speculation about the leader's health, a US monitor said on Sunday, citing commercial satellite imagery on the region, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to 38 North-- a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, the imagery showed a train "probably belonging to Kim Jong Un parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21."

"The approximately 250-metre long train, although partially covered by the station's roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23," it said.

"The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it added.

The report came as rumours about his health have spread as Kim apparently skipped an important annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the April 15 birthday of late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

CNN intensified the speculation by reporting earlier last week that the United States is looking into intelligence that Kim is "in grave danger" after surgery.

Seoul officials have disputed recent media reports about Kim, saying there have been no unusual signs from the North. Some said that Kim is presumed to be staying in Wonsan for unspecified reasons.

Washington has also dismissed the reports, with US President Donald Trump calling such reports "incorrect" in a press briefing late last week.

On Saturday, other media reports stated that China has dispatched a team of medical doctors and officials to North Korea "to advise on" Kim, citing multiple unnamed people familiar with the situation.

North Korea's state media, however, has not made any mention of Kim's public activity for two weeks since he was last seen in April 11 presiding over a major party meeting, though it has reported on his handling of routine state affairs, such as sending diplomatic letters.
But not all speculation has proven to be false.

When he was absent from public for about a month in 2014, speculation arose about his health and a political crisis in the secretive state. He later reemerged with a cane and a limp reportedly after having a cyst removed from his ankle.

The 36-year-old leader is known to have various health problems apparently caused by obesity and heavy smoking. He took office as leader of the communist state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died of a heart attack in late 2011.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Washington, Feb 21: US President Donald Trump has made yet another tall claim about the size of the crowd that will welcome him in Ahmedabad, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him that there will 10 million(1 crore) people to greet him on his arrival for his maiden visit to India.

President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Speaking to reporters at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday, Trump said that Modi told him that "we'll have 7 million people between the airport and the event."

"So it's going to be very exciting. But he says between the stadium and the airport, we'll have about 7 million people. So it's going to be very exciting. I hope you all enjoy it," he said.

On Thursday, Trump upped the crowd size by three million at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado.

"I hear, they are going to have 10 million people. They say anywhere from six to 10 million people are going to be showing up along the route to one of the largest stadiums in the world, the largest cricket stadium in the world, which is brand new and beautiful," said Trump, who is seeking reelection in the November presidential polls.

But according to a top civic official in Ahmedabad, the total population of the city is only around 70 lakh.

The authorities believe that between one to two lakh people are expected to line up along the 22-km route of the road show by Modi and Trump from the airport to the Motera cricket stadium, said to be the world's largest.

"We believe that around one to two lakh people will gather to welcome the dignitaries during the road show," Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said on Thursday, contradicting the claims made by the US President.

As per the road show route plan, Trump and Modi will first reach the Sabarmati Ashram, a place closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, from Ahmedabad airport.

Addressing his supporters, Trump spoke about his India visit and said the "Namaste Trump" rally in Ahmedabad would spoil him.

"Prime Minister Modi said, we will have 10 million people greet you. Here's my problem. We have a packed house. We have a lot of people, thousands of people that couldn't get in. It's going to look like peanuts from now on," he said.

"I'll never be satisfied with the crowd. If we have 10 million people in India, how can I be satisfied when we fill up like a 60,000-seat stadium? I am getting spoiled," Trump said.

One of Trump's supporters from the audience then suggested that he build a bigger stadium.

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