Boys, coach in stable health after 10 days lost in Thai cave
MAE SAI, Thailand — The 12 boys and soccer coach found in a partially flooded cave in northern Thailand after 10 days are mostly in stable medical condition and have received high-protein liquid food, officials said Tuesday, though it is not known when they will be able to go home.
Video released early Tuesday by the Thai navy showed the boys in their soccer uniforms sitting on a dry area inside the cave above the water as a spotlight, apparently from a rescuer, illuminated their faces. The boys were found late Monday night during a desperate search that drew international help and captivated the nation.
Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the health of the boys and coach were checked using a field assessment in which red is critical condition, yellow is serious and green is stable.
"We found that most of the boys are in green condition," he said. "Maybe some of the boys have injuries or light injuries and would be categorized as yellow condition. But no one is in red condition."
When the group will be able to leave the cave isn't known due to flooding and other factors that could make their extraction dangerous. Experts have said it could be safer to simply supply them where they are for now. Thailand's rainy season typically lasts through October.
Family members of the missing hugged each other and cheered as they heard they had been found.
Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, smiled and hugged her family as news of their discovery spread. She said she would cook her son a Thai omelet, his favorite food, when he returns home.
Rescue divers had spent much of Monday making preparations for a final push to locate the lost soccer players, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach. Flooding trapped them after they entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai on June 23.
Divers found the group about 300-400 meters (yards) past a section of the cave on higher ground that was thought to be where they might have taken shelter.
In the 5-minute navy video, the boys are quiet as they sit on their haunches, legs bent in front of them. "You are very strong," one of the rescuers says in English. Someone asks what day it is, and the rescuer responds, "Monday. Monday. You have been here — 10 days."
One boy, noticing the camera and hearing unfamiliar words, says in Thai, "Oh, they want to take a picture; tell him we're hungry. I haven't had anything to eat."
Then the boy breaks into simple English, saying, "Eat, eat, eat," to which another voice responds in Thai that he already told that to the rescuer.