Thai young footballers team found alive

International Desk: Rescue teams have found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive in a cave in Thailand nine days after the group went missing.

The boys, between 11 and 16 years old, are all members of the Wild Boar soccer team, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, for a team outing, but became stranded in the dark tunnels by a sudden and continuous downpour.

The international rescue operation -- which includes the Thai Navy SEALs as well as experts from the US, China, Australia and the UK -- had been working to reach a large, deep chamber, informally known as Pattaya Beach, where the missing boys were believed to have taken refuge.

"I confirm they are all safe," Narongsak Osottanakorn, governor of the local region Chiang Rai, told reporters on Monday night.

Osottanakorn said the rescuers had reached Pattaya Beach but found it was flooded. The Thai Navy SEAL divers continued a further 300 to 400 meters where they located the team.

The Thai Navy released a video on Facebook apparently showing the moment the group were found. In the almost 5-minute clip, the boys are illuminated by torchlight while a diver can be heard speaking to them.



"How many of you?" one of the rescuers calls out in English, before a faint "Thirteen!" is heard in response.

"Thirteen? Brilliant!" the rescuer says, before continuing: "We are coming, it's OK, many people are coming ... we are the first."

The rescuer tells them: "You are very strong, very strong."

Amid the emotional discovery, Governor Osottanakorn warned that the mission is "not done yet" and a medical team needs to enter the cave network to assess the boys.

"We will drain all water out from the cave then we will take all 13 people out of the cave. We are now planning how to send (a) nurse and doctor inside the cave to check their health and movement. We will work all night," Osottanakorn said.

Additional divers will accompany the doctor and nurse, Capt. Akanand Surawan, a commander with the Royal Thai Navy, said in a news release. Rescuers will also pump air into the cave to improve conditions, according to Surawan.

Surawan said another phase of the operation involves supplying the team with four months' worth of food and teaching the boys how to dive.

In Thailand, the search efforts have captured the public's attention with wall-to-wall media coverage as many waited with bated breath for a positive outcome.

Outside the cave system, there were exhausted but jubilant scenes on Monday night. Families -- many of whom have maintained a constant vigil since the team went missing -- could be seen cheering the good news on a live feed from the Facebook page of the Chiang Rai provincial Public Relations Department.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/July 3, 2018/Nasim