Eighth boy brought out of Thai cave

First four boys freed said to be in good health

MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) – Four more of the youth soccer players trapped for over two weeks in a flooded cave in northern Thailand were brought out yesterday, an official said, bringing to eight the number extracted in the ongoing high-stakes rescue operation.

“The eighth person is out and the operation is done for today,” Sitthichai Klangpattana, flag officer to Thailand’s navy SEAL commander, told The Associated Press. ``Four boys were brought out today.’’

He didn’t comment on the health of the boys or how well the operation had gone.

The first four boys were brought out on Sunday and were in good condition in hospital, officials said.

After yesterday’s rescue effort, four boys and their coach were still inside the labyrinth cave.

On Sunday, when the high-risk rescue operation to rescue the 12 boys and their coach began, teams of divers brought out four of the boys but waited several hours before confirming their safe rescue.

The Facebook page of the Thai Navy SEALs, who have been central to the rescue operation, was updated last night to say ``two days, eight boars’’ – a reference to the Wild Boars, the name of the boys’ soccer team. The message, like most posted by the SEALs, ended with the fighting cheer adopted from the US Navy: Hooyah.

Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said earlier yesterday the second phase began at 11 a.m. and authorities “hope to hear good news in the next few hours.”

“All conditions are still as good as they were yesterday,” Narongsak told a news conference. “The boys’ strength, the plan – today we are ready like before. And we will do it faster because we are afraid of the rain.”

Authorities have been rushing to extract the boys, ages 11-16, and their coach from the cave as the annual monsoon bears down on the mountainous region in far northern Chiang Rai province.

Workers have been laboring around the clock to pump water out of the cave, and authorities said yesterday that heavy downpours overnight did not raise water levels inside.

The four boys guided from the cave Sunday in an urgent and dangerous operation that involved them diving through the cave’s dark, tight and twisting passages were happy and in good health, authorities said.