4 RESCUED FROM THAI CAVE
Second group of boys begin journey from chamber they were trapped in
An ambulance carrying four of the rescued boys heads to the hospital even as divers were trying to evacuate the remaining of 12 boys and their coach who were trapped at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Thailand on July 8. The elite divers have been carrying out the extremely dangerous operation for more than two weeks, as looming monsoon rains threatened the rescue effort. —
Mae Sai, Thailand,
July 8: Four boys among a group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on Sunday, authorities said, raising hopes elite divers will quickly save others.
The first two boys emerged about nightfall from the Tham Luang cave complex after navigating a treacherous escape route of more than 4 km through twisting, narrow and jagged passageways. They were followed shortly afterwards by two others, leading to an explosion of jubilation on social media in Thailand and around the world as the rescued boys were rushed to hospital.
“Four of them came out,” a defence ministry official said.
Foreign elite divers and Thai Navy SEALS on Sunday morning began the complex operation to extract the 12 boys and their football coach as they raced against time, with imminent monsoon rains threatening more flooding that would doom the mission.
“Today is the D-day. The boys are ready to face any challenges,” rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters near the cave site on Sunday morning.
The group became trapped in a cramped chamber deep inside Tham Luang in a mountainous area of northern Thailand on June 23, when they went in after football practice and got caught behind rising waters. Their plight transfixed Thailand and the rest of the world, as authorities struggled to devise a plan to get the boys — aged between 11 and 16 — and their 25year-old coach out.
The rescue of the first four was a stunning victory in an operation Narongsak had earlier dubbed “Mission Impossible”, and led to cautious optimism that the others would also be saved.