Workers today (Mon) searching for 12 boys and their football coach who are trapped inside a cave in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand.

The youngsters and the 25-year-old manager Ekkapol Chanwong had finished training on Saturday afternoon and rode their bikes to the cave when a sudden rainstorm flooded the entrance while they were inside.

A mother of one of the boys called police at 7pm on Saturday when her son did not return home. Officers descended on the cavern as they battled to find the group in the darkness but were hampered by the water levels.

Police said that local authorities, police, rescue workers and Navy divers were now looking for the boys aged 11 to 15, as well as the coach. There are 13 missing people in total.

Tham Luang Nang Non cave, which is an estimated to be four to five miles long, can flood up to a height of up to 5m (16.5ft) during the rainy season, which runs from late May to October.

Tragically, the last picture of the lads shows them on their bikes kitted out in their red football strips before they left their bikes at the entrance and descended into the cave in the Mae Sai district.

Friends and relative have now been gathering at the natural park popular with tourists and hikers where they have left good luck charms and incense while praying for the safe return of the group.