(Photo: AFP)

It is the ninth day since rescuers started to search for the missing soccer team which is believed to be trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand since last Saturday.

A group of Thai and Australian divers have ventured more than 3km into the cave on July 1. The elevated dry area where the children are believed to be is called Pattaya Beach, several kilometers from the cave’s entrance.

The Australian team has joined forces with several Chinese rescue experts, up to 32 US forces personnel, three British divers and a British cave expert as well as rescue teams from Myanmar and Laos who are already there.

On Friday, Beijing Pinglan Public Welfare Foundation sent a team of six underwater emergency response experts to join relief efforts in Chiang Rai. All of these Chinese rescuers have experience to conduct relief efforts in Myanmar and Nepal.

The soccer team visited the cave after a training session on June 23. They were reported missing since, leaving only their bicycles behind at the cave entrance.