All 13 saved from cave

CHIANG RAI: Twelve boys and their football coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for more than a fortnight have been rescued in an unprecedented 3-day mission.

The complex 72-hour effort to get the “Wild Boars” football team out of the Tham Luang cave ended yesterday in success after meticulous planning, cooperation and no small amount of luck.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, had no diving experience but had to quickly learn. Foreign and Thai Navy SEAL divers practised with them near the embankment where they were found on July 2.

The danger was highlighted by the death of former Navy SEAL, Saman Kunan, on July 5 as he was placing oxygen tanks along the route in preparation for the rescue mission.

Led by 13 “world-class” divers, the boys were guided by two adults each, with others stationed along the way.

They were tied to buddy divers who carried their oxygen tanks, guiding them through the more than 2km narrow and dark route using torches and ropes.

They came out one by one, with four emerging on Sunday, four on Monday, and the remaining four extracted yesterday with their coach.

Each round trip took about 10 hours, but yesterday’s was the fastest, completed in about nine hours. – AFP

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