Families visit recovering soccer squad
Boys, coach flash ‘V’ for victory to well-wishers
MAE SAI, Thailand — As ecstatic relatives watched and waved from behind a glass barrier, the 12 boys and their soccer coach rescued from deep within a flooded cave in Thailand made the “V” for victory sign Wednesday from their beds in a hospital isolation ward where they are recovering from the 18-day ordeal.
The boys, their faces covered by green surgical masks, sat up in bed and chatted with their nurses, at times responding with the customary Thai sign of respect — hands pressed together while bowing the head. The youngest boy, 11, appeared to be asleep under a crisp white sheet.
“Don’t need to worry about their physical health and even more so for their mental health,” said Chaiwetch Thanapaisal, director of Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital.
“Everyone is strong in mind and heart,” he said at a news conference of officials involved in the rescue.
The four boys and 25-year-old soccer coach who were brought out Tuesday on the final day of the three-day rescue effort have recovered more quickly than the boys rescued on Sunday and Monday, Chaiwetch said.
Even so, all need to be monitored in the hospital for a week and then rest at home for an additional 30 days, he said. Three have slight lung infections.
Another video released on Facebook by the Thai Navy SEALS, who were central to the rescue, showed one of the boys being carried through part of the muddy cave on a stretcher covered by an emergency thermal blanket.
The group had entered the sprawling Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand to go exploring after soccer practice on June 23 when monsoon rains filled the tight passageways, blocking their escape. They were found by a pair of British divers nearly 10 days later, huddled on a small, dry shelf just above the water, smiling with relief but visibly skinny.
The complex mission for the rescuers from Thailand, the U.S., Britain, Australia and other countries to guide the boys and coach through the cave’s flooded passageways riveted people worldwide. Highlighting the dangers, a former Thai navy SEAL volunteering to work on the rescue died Friday while replenishing oxygen canisters placed along the escape route.