Thai rescue diver dies after falling unconscious at cave where boys await rescue

REUTERS - A Thai rescuer died during an operation to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped 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 (July 5) 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," Rear Admiral Arpakorn Yuukongkaew, commander of the Thai navy SEAL unit, told reporters on Friday (July 6). 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.