Cave rescue under wraps

Four more boys were evacuated and secreted under heavy cover to where they were whisked away by helicopter to hospital.

CHIANG RAI: The first four boys rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand were in good health and demanding fried rice in hospital, the head of the rescue team said, as divers resumed operations to bring out the remaining members of the group.

The bid to rescue the boys aged between 11 and 16 – and their 25-year-old soccer coach got going again after a break late on Sunday to replenish the team’s oxygen supplies and make other preparations deep inside the cave.

The four boys, rescued on Sunday, were flown by helicopter from the Tham Luang cave to the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital, located at the heart of Chiang Rai province, about 70km away.

“The four children are fine. The children complained that they were hungry and wanted holy basil stir-fried rice,” Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the rescue operation, told reporters yesterday, referring to a popular Thai dish.

Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda also said the boys were in good health. He did not give further details. Officials have yet to confirm the identities of the four boys freed.

Narongsak said their identities were being protected out of respect for the families of those still trapped inside the cave.

Officials last week said they would bring the fittest people in the group out first, but Narongsak later said that whoever was ready first would be escorted out.

A source involved in the rescue mission who saw two of the four boys walk out of the cave said that they looked tired but healthy, adding that one even looked “vivacious and fresh”. He did not give further details.

“Imagine marathon runners. It’s like when they reach the finish line exhausted,” said the source.