‘Better than expected’ rescue suspended for night; four out

On Sunday, teams of divers brought out four of the trapped boys but waited several hours before confirming their safe rescue.

Expert divers assigned to the task of saving a youth soccer team trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks looked set to resume their operation on Monday, a day after four people were brought out.

The eight boys rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand are in “high spirits”, a senior health official said Tuesday.

Doctors are monitoring them for any illnesses they may have picked up in the cave, and supervising efforts to build up their strength after they spent more than two weeks with little food and no natural light.

Narongsak Osottanakorn, the head of the rescue operation, told reporters on Monday: “The four children are fine”.

The Thai Navy Seals leading the operation say eight boys have now been extracted from the cave and will now work to extract the four boys and their coach who remain trapped inside the cave system.

Authorities have said the mission could take three or four days to complete.

Night’s relatives have said they believe the group went to the cave to celebrate his 16th birthday after a Saturday football practice and got caught as heavy rains caused the water inside the cave to suddenly rise. Seven boys remain trapped inside with their coach.

The mission to rescue a group of boys and their soccer coach trapped in the flooded cave since June 23 resumed hours earlier on Monday.

Dr. Harris on Saturday undertook the risky dive to reach the 12 Thai boys and their coach and later gave the final approval on the boys’ health, clearing the way for the rescue attempt which commenced yesterday and succeed in bringing out four of the survivors, the paper reported.

The Guardian reported that the four boys who were rescued last night are in good overall health and should be able to see their families later today, according to a key health official.

The Royal Thai Navy Seals also confirmed that yesterday’s mission was over.

Narongsak said after the first four boys were rescued that they would be quarantined “for a while because we are concerned about infections”.

A video published by the Thai PBS channel earlier on Monday also showed a person on a stretcher – most likely the first boy to be rescued on Monday – being transferred to a helicopter.

“I’m hoping for good news”, he said.

The rescues were carried out with a diver holding each boy underneath him as they swam through the cave, the boy breathing through a mask and attached by a tether, while another diver swam in front of them, Narongsak said.

Part of the complicated rescue included the boys having to walk on their feet through muddy and rocky areas that were not underwater.

Rain was a concern as preparations were made for Sunday’s rescue. The team was initially planning to leave the boys in the cave until the water recedes but decided against it for fear of further flooding as more monsoon rains are expected in the coming days. Kanet said the boys will be treated as disaster victims and given psychological evaluations and other assistance after their ordeal.