richard stanton and john volanthen, who arrived at the rescue site this morning.ning of this huge rescue operation. it‘s a huge task ahead. what we‘re seeing this morning is the thai navy divers down there, working with the army, working with the huge international team, including these two british divers, who have been absolutely fundamental in using their expertise to find the boys. what they‘re doing today is giving the boys energy sachets, gels, just to sustain them in the first phase. they‘re giving them survival boxes. they‘re down there in this very muddy little shelf, just about a metre above the water level. what they say they‘ll do next is make that area slightly nicerfor them, because they really want to take their time, make sure that they‘re 100% ready to go before they move them out. they want to make sure this is 100% safe, any operation they do, and the third thing they‘re saying they‘re doing is bringing in around four months‘ worth of food. they‘re saying they need that amount of food down there just in case what we see at the moment is rainy sea

richard stanton, a firefighter, and john vilanthan, an i.t. consultant, volunteering to dive in these treacherous conditions. >> they are record-breakers. they are real pioneers. >> reporter: now just two of the dozens of divers interrupting jobs or vacations to assist thai navy seals in this dangerous race against time. this man is a diving instructor who has been here all week. >> there is lots of risks. this is of a mag -- magnitude rescue that's never been done in the history of known man. >> reporter: the death of a diver, a tragic reminder of the risks in this global effort. a whole community of volunteers working here cooking food, donating time, offering support. >> it's an amazing experience to be part of. so much kindness, especially from the thai side. >> reporter: the world watching and waiting, hoping this remarkable group can bring the boys back home. nbc news, thailand. >> everyone hoping. that is "nightly news." jose diaz balart will be you tomorrow. i'll see you on sunday. i'm kate snow. for all of us at nbc news, thank you fo

co—ordinating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantonarr knows the pair and is an expert himself. he said the operation seemed to be going "very well". he spoke to me earlier. this is absolutely fantastic news. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window... well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you have a torrential downpour, we have seen images of the current in the cave today. that would be a major problem for everyone if that rainfall intensifies in the very near future. for all of us, in fact, for the world, this has been a crash cou

co—ordinating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantonan expert himself. he said the operation seemed to be going "very well. this is what he told my colleague. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window, well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you have a torrential downpour, we have seen images of the current in the cave today. that would be a major problem for everyone if that rainfall intensifies in the very near future. for all of us, in fact, for the world, this has been a crash course in cave diving. we have heard about the treachero

now co—ordiating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantong expert and friend of the british pair in thailand is martyn farr, who operates are diving training organisation out of crichhowell near abergavenny. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. what is your initial reaction to the latest development? this is absolutely fantastic news. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it isa well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window, well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, andi right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you h

british cave divers, richard stanton and john volanthen, the first to reach the boys, are now supportingrescue effort. they were called in by thai authorities for their expertise in high risk cave diving, something on display during their 2004 attempts to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset. those boys have had a hard nine, ten days underground and now they've got the best guys there. so, john and rick, you know, they are calm, they are very collected, they are very organised, extremely disciplined and consummate professionals. i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. with even more heavy rain expected in the coming days, rescuers will have to decide on the best way out. victoria gill, bbc news. what met in a few minutes we will turn to alabama and look at how donald trump putt, in a moment. the uk's royal airforce celebrates its centenary next week with a service at westminster abbey, and a huge flypast over buckingham palace, part of the biggest air display ever seen in london. up to 100 jets, helicopters and aeroplanes from across the different eras o

british cave divers, richard stanton and john volanthen, the first to reach the boys, are now supportingled in by thai authorities for their expertise in high risk cave diving, something on display during their 2004 attempts to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset. those boys have had a hard nine, ten days underground and now they've got the best guys there. so, john and rick you know, they are calm, they are very collected, they are very organised, extremely disciplined and consume it disciplines. —— consummate professionals. i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. with even more heavy rain expected in the coming days, rescuers will have to decide on the best way out. victoria gill, bbc news. here to look at how the boys and theirfamilies might have been coping with this ordeal is professor lorraine sherr, a clinical pyschologist at ucl. i was just i wasjust thinking, i was just thinking, aside from the immense disorientation of not having a torch and light and all the things you would need in that dark space, there must have been the fear that you are

richard galpin, bbc news. there's been enormous praise for the work of the two british divers who found the group. thai authorities called for help from rick stantonthen who have a reputation as among the best cave rescuers in the world. colleagues have described the pair as the "a—team". daniela relph reports. on the far left is rick stanton, on the far right isjohn volanthen. highly accomplished and experienced cave divers. the reassuring words of john volanthen the first contact with the outside world the boys and their coach had had in more than a week. this wasjohn volanthen this morning, helping prepare thai navy seals. the team have been in thailand for several days, chosen for the expertise of low visibility cave dives and specialist knowledge of breathing equipment. john and rick, they are calm, very collected, very organised, extremely disciplined, and consummate professionals. so i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. the british cave divers are volunteers. rick stanton isa divers are volunteers. rick stanton is a retired firefighter from coventry. he was awarded an mbe in 2012 for services to cave diving. jo

i do know rick stanton, one of the key individuals, and rick is very equipped for doing this kind of thing. richard harris. i do know of a few of them, in the community, very small community, maybe 5% of the diving community in the world are cave divers. and at this level of diving, you can narrow that down to perhaps another 3%. >> it's really remarkable. what is your sense in watching what they're doing now, which is trying to restore the oxygen to get the other eight individuals, mostly kids, obviously, and one coach, out? do you get the sense that because this was successful that they'll do the same process going forward? >> well, success -- we've got four out now. no reason not to try it again. kids are resilient. i'll give them that. these kids appear to be in good shape, good physical condition. they have to build a bond up with these divers in a very short period of time. the chamber that they're in is losing this oxygen supply. to resupply it with any other breathable gas is a challenge. the logistics are phenomenal here. everything we do in the cave is not about -- sorry, is not about ent

richard galpin, bbc news. we can speak now to alex daw who is the station commander at west midlands fire service where rick stantonsince he retired he has taken up his cave diving and rescue operations full—time and he used to practice it over the 30 years he was with the fire service. what is it about him that drives someone to do something like cave diving. i cannot think of anything worse, frankly because it is a very dangerous thing to do? it is very dangerous, but alongside a career in the fire service, rick, it was a passion of his all through his career in the fire service. he is a very calm gentlemen, very knowledgeable and very experienced and he was well trained in what he has continued to do now since he retired which is the cave rescu e do now since he retired which is the cave rescue and cave diving. there are similarities because you are going into an environment where you have no idea what you will come across? absolutely, yes. and he is well trained, well knowledgeable in what he does in the caves. like i said, ye has been doing it for at least 20, 30 years, if not longer. he has equipment that ena