AKIPRESS.COM - The frantic efforts to rescue a dozen boys and their soccer coach after a heavy rainstorm flooded the entrance to a popular cave in Thailand were complicated Tuesday by muddy floodwaters as Thai Navy SEAL divers entered the muddy chambers, according to a top official.

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda told reporters outside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province near the border with Malaysia the rescue efforts hinge on being able to pump out water from the cave.

Rescue efforts so far have been hampered by muddy water, according to Paojinda. Divers can only proceed when enough water has been pumped out to give breathing space. The divers will soon start using special oxygen tanks to allow more time underwater and allow them to work through all hours, according to the Associated Press.

"I want to confirm to the media that the SEAL team will be working nonstop because it's already dark here too," he said. "So night and day doesn't make a big difference. They'll just need to rotate."