The 25-year-old coach of a youth football team trapped for two weeks in a Thai cave has offered his "apologies to the parents" of the boys in a scrawled note released by the Thai Navy on Saturday. In other handwritten messages that have been conveyed from the depths of the caves, one boy reminded his parents not to forget to arrange his birthday party and another said he was looking forward to eating some friend chicken. Thailand is holding its breath for the safe return of the group, with heavy rains forecast and fears mounting over the reduced oxygen and high level of water in the cave. Ekkapol Chantawong was for nine days the only adult with the children – aged 11 to 16 – until they were discovered on a muddy ledge by British rescue divers on Monday. "To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the very best care of the kids," he said in a note given to a diver on Friday and published on the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page on Saturday. "Thank you for all the moral support and I apologise to the parents." Combination of photos shows handwritten messages written by boys and football coach trapped in Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai Credit: Reuters Other touching notes signed by members of the "Wild Boar" team were directed to their families, many of whom have kept an anxious vigil outside the cave for a fortnight. "Don’t worry dad and mum," said a note from one of the boys who gave his nickname as "Bew". "I have been away for two weeks but will come back and help you sell your stuff." His family are shopkeepers. Another note, from "Dom" said he was "fine but the air here is a little cold". "Don't forget to set up my birthday party," he added. Another, identified as Tun, writes: "Mom and Dad, please don't worry, I am fine. I've told Yod to get ready to take me out for fried chicken. With love." The name reference could be of a waiting relative. The rest of the scribbled letters on pages from a notebook struck a similar message of love for parents and telling them not to worry. One boy named Mick wrote: "Don't be worried, I miss everyone. Grandpa, uncle, mom dad, and siblings I love you all. I'm happy being here inside, the navy SEALS have taken good care. Love you all." The boys are being trained in the basics of diving in case the flood waters force authorities into a sudden evacuation through twisting and jagged passageways. In an update in the early hours of Saturday, rescue operation chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said it was "not suitable" to make the boys dive to safety yet. Tham Luang cave rescue options However, he indicated that further downpours might speed up attempts to extract them, despite the dangers. The risks were underlined by the death on Friday of a former Thai Navy SEAL diver, who ran out of oxygen while returning from the chamber where the boys are trapped. Saman Kunan had been trying to establish an air line to the chamber when he passed out and perished. "We lost one man, but we still have faith to carry out our work," Navy Seal commander Apakorn Yookongkaew said, adding that rescuers have "a limited time" to extract the boys. Diving cylinders are prepared at a makeshift camp at the entrance of Tham Luang Nang Non caves Credit: Getty Authorities continue to pursue another option, which is finding a shaft or drilling into the mountain in which the cave is located to find a sort of back door entrance. More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said Saturday. "Some are as deep as 400 metres... but they still cannot find their location yet," Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters, adding the mission lacked the technology "to pinpoint where they are staying." Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, on Friday dispatched engineers from his companies, SpaceX and The Boring Company, to help with the rescue effort. Mr Musk initially responded to requests for help from Twitter users, but later outlined a more detailed strategy using his companies’ pumps, battery packs and tubes, to help the boys, aged 11-16, escape the horrific imprisonment they have now endured for two weeks. Thailand cave rescue, in pictures The businessman suggested inserting a one-metre diameter nylon tube through the cave network and inflating it with air "like a bouncy castle" to create an air tunnel underwater against the cave roof, allowing the children to walk through it and duck through the narrow sections. Ekkapol's message is the first from the coach, whose role in the team's predicament has split Thai social media. Many have lauding him after reports he gave his share of food to the kids before they were located and helped them get through nine days in the darkness. Others have criticised him for agreeing to take the young boys into the cave during the monsoon season. The group entered the cave on June 23 and got trapped as floodwaters tore in. A massive rescue operation is under way, with high-powered pumps working round-the-clock to reduce the water level inside the cave, while rescue experts weigh their options to extract the kids.
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