Thailand cave rescue: Four boys retrieved in second phase
July 9, 2018
Expert divers have pulled four more boys from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, officials say. Authorities are working to extract five other members of their group who are still trapped underground.
Image: Reuters/S. Zeya Tun
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Four more members of a Thai youth football team were brought out of a flooded cave on Monday during phase two of a difficult rescue mission.
Television footage showed ambulances leaving the Tham Luang Nang Non cave site in northern Thailand, where 12 boys and their soccer coach had been trapped for more than a fortnight. Five people now remain inside, with eight rescued thus far.
"We have helped four more children today," rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
"The eighth person is out and the operation is done for today," added Sitthichai Klangpattana, flag officer to Thailand's navy SEAL commander.
On Sunday — the first day of the mission — four boys were rescued from the cave in an operation that involved divers guiding them through narrow, winding passages filled with muddy water and strong currents.
Authorities were racing to rescue the remaining boys and their 25-year-old coach before monsoon rains cause the floodwater to rise, with efforts expected to continue on Tuesday.
Why it was so difficult to extricate Thai cave boys
After a daring rescue mission, Thai divers and international volunteers rescued 12 young soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave. The group was stranded in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex for 18 days.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom
Happy ending after harrowing ordeal
After deliberating over how best to rescue the boys and their coach - considering even whether to teach them how to dive, or wait for the monsoon waters to recede months later - rescue workers finally settled on pumping out as much water as possible, sedating those trapped and strapping them to a diver who shepherded them to safety.
Image: Reuters/Thai Navy Seals
Found alive after nine days
Rescue divers initially found the 12 young soccer players and their coach alive on July 3 after they went missing in a Thai cave 10 days earlier. Fighting against time, rain and low oxygen levels, rescuers managed to free the first four boys successfully on July 8. The rescuers faced a complicated and dangerous diving mission to free the rest of the team and their coach.
Image: picture-alliance/Newscom
Glimpse of joy
Families of the teenage soccer players expressed their joy over the discovery of the boys nine days after they went missing. Outside the cave, the mother of one of the boys said she was "glad" for a glimpse of her son. "He's thinner," she said, as she ran her finger over the image of her son on a television screen.
Image: Thai Navy Seal via AP
Massive rescue efforts
Thai rescuers were assisted by an international team comprising experts from China, Australia, the USA and Britain. A video from the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page showed the group several kilometers inside the 10-kilometer (6-mile) cave network on a small wedge of dry ground. The boys moved 400 meters further in as the ledge had become covered by water.
Trapped by flooding
The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the cave to celebrate one of the player's birthday. They became trapped in the cave, a local tourist spot where similar incidents have taken place in the past, when sudden rainfall flooded its entry on June 23. It was later reported that some of the boys could not swim, further complicating the rescue.
Image: picture-alliance/Xinhua
A difficult mission
The rescue mission proved difficult for divers whose efforts were continually hampered by rising water that filled sections of the cave, often forcing them to stop. Getting trained divers into the cave was easier than getting untrained kids out.
Image: Reuters/S. Zeya Tun
Boys' safety paramount
The entire nation was glued to the media coverage of the rescue mission, and Thai authorities insisted they will not compromise on the safety of the trapped group. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (above, at right) thanked international experts who helped find the boys.
Image: picture alliance/Xinhua News Agency
First boys rescued
The first four boys were rescued by a team of 13 foreign diving experts and Thai Navy SEALS, who helped them navigate the flooded cave tunnels. The head of the rescue operation said they were the healthiest in the group. The rest of the boys and their coach would be rescued from the cave over the next two days.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Suwanrumpha
Safe and sound
Doctors who treated the boys after their rescue reported that while they had lost weight, the otherwise appeared to be in good health. The dozens of divers and hundreds of other rescue workers have been celebrated around the world as heroes, especially 38-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, who died after bringing the group supplies of air on July 5.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Thailand Government Spokesman Bureau
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The rescue operation so far:
The first four of 12 boys were rescued in the first phase of the operation on Sunday.
The head of the rescue mission said the healthiest boys were the first to be taken out.
The boys wore full diving face masks as a team of diving experts guided them along a 4.7-kilometer (2.9-mile) route out of the cave complex.
The rescued boys were immediately taken to hospital to undergo medical tests.
Officials say they are in good health but will not be allowed close contact with their relatives because of the risk of infection.
Complicated rescue: Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand's navy SEAL unit are taking part in the operation to free the young soccer players and their coach. Officials say it could take up to four days to get the entire team out. Each round trip from the rescue camp to the rocky shelf where the group is trapped takes about 11 hours. As well as diving through tight submerged passageways, the rescuers and boys also have to contend with oxygen-depleted air. A former Thai navy SEAL died making the dive on Friday.
Two weeks underground: A massive rescue operation was launched after the boys, aged 11-16, and their coach went missing on June 23. The footballers were exploring the cave after a practice game when flash flooding blocked their escape route. They were discovered by British divers nine days later.
