Thai boys’ rescue team heads home as heroes

The Thai and foreign rescuers of the youth soccer team trapped in a cave for 18 days began heading home yesterday as doctors said the boys they saved have so far not shown any significant ill-effects from their ordeal.

Members of the Thai navy SEAL team, who were among the first searchers to penetrate the Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the last divers out, flew to their base at Sattahip on the Gulf of Thailand, where they received a heroes’ welcome. The ceremony was capped with their commander leading a rousing round of the navy cheer “Hooyah!” that became a trademark of their neversay-die effort to extricate the boys.

Foreign helpers, including the two British divers who were the first to discover members of the Wild Boar soccer club, also began travelling home.