Thai cave rescue: Mission accomplished
WORLD RELIEVED AS ALL BOYS, COACH BROUGHT OUT SAFELY
Rescuers freed the last four of 12 Thai boys and their football coach from deep inside a flooded cave yesterday, a successful end to a perilous mission that gripped the world for more than two weeks.
World leaders joined the global outpouring of relief and congratulations at the astounding rescue.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, tweeted: “I was very pleased with the successful rescue of 12 kids and their coach who were trapped in a cave in Thailand. A humanitarian story that the entire world empathised with. I salute the rescue efforts and our heartfelt congratulations to the children, their families, brave rescue teams, and the King of Thailand, his government and people.”
The “Wild Boars” football team, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels. “All the 13 Wild Boars are now out of the cave,” the Navy SEAL unit, which led the rescue, said on its Facebook page, adding all were safe.
British divers found the 13, hungry and huddled in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometres inside the Tham Luang cave complex, on Monday last week. After pondering for days how to get the 13 out, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday.