Joy as last of the trapped cave boys is pulled out alive
‘Such a beautiful moment’
WORLD leaders yesterday hailed the ‘miracle’ rescue of all 12 schoolboys and their coach from a Thailand cave.
There was cheering, applause and relief as the last member of the Wild Boars soccer team was pulled to safety from five kilometres underground.
At the end of a treacherous threeday operation, the full squad was reunited in hospital and their tormented parents’ 18-day nightmare was over.
Mothers and fathers burst into tears as the final four children were shepherded from the darkness.
Suffering from hypothermia after their three-and-a-half hour journey through submerged and mud-clogged tunnels, the boys were airlifted to hospital.
Army medics wrapped them in blankets, tightly strapped them to stretchers and fitted each child with an oxy- gen mask, a protective neck-brace and sunglasses to shield their eyes after a fortnight in the blackness.
US President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations: ‘Such a beautiful moment – all freed, great job!’
Theresa May said: ‘The world was watching and will be saluting the bravery of all those involved’.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney tweeted: ‘What a fantastic story of human endurance.. with such a positive outcome...’
The stunning rescue was led by British potholing heroes dubbed the ‘masters of their profession’. Jubilant Thai navy SEALs hailed the mission ‘a miracle’ and declared: ‘The Wild Boars have been reunited.’
Among those rescued yesterday was pint-sized Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, 11, who is nicknamed Titan because of his strength.
His tearful grandmother Kong Kantawong, 60, shrieked with joy when she got the call that he was safe. ‘I will hug him very tightly and never let him go,’ she said.
The 12 Wild Boars and their 25-year-old coach had strolled into the cave on June 23 but monsoon rains flooded their exit and forced them back to a muddy ledge three miles inside the mountain network.
An extraordinary international operation sprung up outside their rocky dungeon after British cave divers found the emaciated group huddled together on the ledge on July 2.
Since then, more than 1,000 people from around the world came to help, with one ex-navy frogman, Saman Kunan, drowning when he ran out of air in the claustrophobic tunnels on Friday.
The world has watched enthralled as the drama unfolded and the astonishing rescue has already drawn Hollywood film producers to the Tham Luang cave.
Last night the chief of the rescue operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, hailed ‘the power of love’ for bringing so many people together to ‘do the impossible’.
Incredibly, the schoolchildren could not even swim. They were given drugs to reduce anxiety levels before donning full face masks and stepping into the black water. Ivan Karadzic, 44, a Danish rescue diver, said: ‘We were afraid of any kind of panic. I cannot believe how cool these kids are.’
Their relieved parents were forced to wear surgical robes and masks and were not allowed to hug their sons to prevent infection when visiting them.
Health officials say the boys will be likely to remain in quarantine for seven days because of their weakened immune systems.
The first eight to be evacuated have all been given inoculations against rabies and tetanus, and are all being treated with antibiotics.
The boys are weak and ravenously hungry, but are said to be in good spirits.