Cave drama Thailand: Coach imprisoned again due to floods

Six years ago, a fight for survival took place in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand, which attracted the attention of the world at the time. Now, due to heavy rainfall, Ekkapol Chantawong has found himself in a difficult situation again: the coach of the young Thai football team, which was trapped in the cave at the time, was stuck on his roof due to flash floods as a result of Typhoon Yagi.

On Tuesday morning, floodwaters suddenly rose sharply in Ekkapol's village, leaving him and his family no time to escape, he said: The water continued to rise, forcing him onto the roof of his house, where he spent the night with his girlfriend and her aunt.

Ekkapol Chantawong said he was able to draw on his experience from 2018 with the Wild Boars team to get through the situation at his home in the northern Thai district of Mae Sai, when he and 12 young kickers were trapped in the Tham Luang cave for nearly three weeks after rains flooded the system.

Over 1,000 people were involved in the rescue operation, which kept the world in suspense for weeks. One diver died. Finally, the twelve young people and their coach Ekkapol were freed after 18 days.

When asked if he could imagine a third such experience, Ekkapol laughed: “It's hard to say. We can't say what will happen, but I hope I don't have to climb up on the roof again tonight.” In the wake of Typhoon Yagi, days of torrential rain triggered deadly flash floods and landslides in northern Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. In Vietnam, the death toll from the floods has now risen to almost 200.