Divers rescue four more boys from Thailand cave; four and coach remain

Monday’s effort involved 100 divers and experts

MAE SAI, Thailand – Elite divers Monday rescued four more boys out of a group of 12 Thai soccer players trapped with their coach in a flooded cave system on northern Thailand, bringing the total saved to eight, authorities said.

The perilous mission involved diving in arduous conditions in fast-flowing waters, at times passing through jagged, dangerously narrow tunnels. The first of the four boys rescued Monday emerged shortly before 5 p.m. local time. The boys were transferred to a hospital by ambulance and helicopter, and all were considered safe, according to authorities.

The first four boys rescued Sunday after being trapped for more than two weeks on a narrow ledge in the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave in Chiang Rai province, were “happy and healthy” and had eaten meals, the head of the rescue mission, Narongsak Osatanakorn, said Monday.

“This morning they said they were hungry and asked for a favorite Thai traditional fried rice dish, Khao Pad Kra Prao (rice topped with stir-fried pork and basil),” Narongsak said.

Monday’s rescue left the remaining four boys and their coach underground for another night.

Narongsak was confident today’s planned rescue would succeed, but declined to say whether all four boys and their coach would be rescued that day. It was safer to bring out four at a time, he said.

Despite elation over the rescues and rising hope in this Southeast Asian nation, a downpour overnight and predicted torrential rains illustrated the urgency of the rescue effort. Authorities say the mission could take three to four days in a desperate race against the monsoon rains that could raise water levels in the cave.

Narongsak did not say whether the weakest or strongest boys were brought out first, although the decision was made by a doctor who assessed the boys Saturday.

The rescue mission, involving divers, engineers and experts from around the world, paused late Sunday and early Monday to let divers rest and give crews time to replenish air tanks and other equipment required in the tunnels. It paused again late Monday and was expected to resume today.

The boys, members of a soccer team called the Wild Boars, were trapped with their deputy coach, Ekapol Chantawong, 25, after they went hiking in the caves, a local attraction where they had been several times before.

Monday’s rescue effort involved 100 divers and experts, including the 18 foreign and Thai divers involved the Sunday’s rescue mission and started five hours earlier than planned, Narongsak said.

“Every factor remained positive – the weather, water level, the stranded boys’ strength, yesterday’s outcomes and all related plans. We are ready for today too and we will work faster as we are afraid of the rain,” Narongsak told journalists.