MAE SAI – A huge military rescue operation is underway, which includes Muslim officers and civilians, racing against the clock to save 12 Thai boys and their football coach who have been trapped in a cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand, for two weeks, BBC reported on July 8.

Sophia Thaianant, who leads the volunteering Muslim women, hopefully said: “I think the boys will come out soon because they’re very strong.” Fortunately, four kids have been rescued so far.

According to Thaianant, rescue divers including Muslim officers have been able to provide the kids of the ‘Wild Boars’ football club with food, oxygen and medical assistance.

Despite the fact that the Malay Muslims of Patani, southern part of Thailand, have been subject to atrocities committed by the Thai forces since the 1909 Anglo-Siamese Treaty, this didn’t discourage the Muslim civilians from playing this important role of helping whoever is needy regardless of faith or background.

Patani Muslim women in Mae Sai town in northern Thailand prepare hundreds of meals for the exhausted rescue officers and the trapped team.

“We cook over 200 dishes per day. It’s halal food for everybody, not just Muslim officers,” one of the Muslim women in Mae Sai said.

Only a 4-day Window

Forecasters are concerned that the further expected monsoon rains over Southeast Asia can flood the remaining narrow passages to the cave.

Media and all non-essential personnel were ordered to leave the site near the cave entrance for safety concerns early on Sunday.

“The boys are currently perched on a dry shelf, but rain could reduce that space to less than 10m2,” Narongsak Osottanakorn, governor of Chiang Rai, informed.

A huge international team works on a plan to free the boys aging between 11 and 16 years old from the rising floods since 23 June.

An oxygen line has been installed to counteract the increased carbon dioxide that comes from so many people breathing within such a small area.

Bore holes have also been drilled into the rock to try to drain water out and give the boys more time.

The billionaire technology and science entrepreneur Elon Musk has offered his assistance to the rescue operations.

He tweeted that he had “received more great feedback from cave experts in Thailand on two possible rescue options” his team have been working on.

Depiction of the cave