First 4 boys rescued from Thailand cave
Four boys among a group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on Sunday, authorities said, as elite divers raced to save the others.
The first two emerged from the Tham Luang cave complex after navigating a treacherous escape route of more than four kilometers
through twisting, narrow and jagged passageways.
“Two are out of the cave. Two more are likely to follow shortly,” LieutenantGeneral Kongcheep Tantrawanit told AFP.
Kongcheep said that the other two boys had also reached a base camp inside the complex from where they could walk the rest of the way.
Foreign elite divers and Thai Navy SEALS on Sunday morning began the extremely dangerous 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 rescue operation.
“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 25-year-old coach out.
‘Mission Impossible’ The rescue of the first four was a stunning victory in an operation Narongsak had earlier dubbed “Mission Impossible”, but there were no guarantees the others would emerge safely.
Another operation commander said on Sunday the rescue efforts could take several days to complete, with the boys and their coach being brought out oneby-one.
The group was found dishevelled and hungry by British cave diving specialists nine days after they ventured in.
Initial euphoria over finding the boys alive quickly turned into deep anxiety as rescuers struggled to find a way to get them out.
The death of a former Thai Navy SEAL diver who ran out of oxygen in the cave on Friday underscored the danger of the journey even for professionals. (AFP)