'Everyone is safe' after daring rescue of 13 in Thai cave
MAE SAI, Thailand — "Everyone is safe." With those three words posted on Facebook the daring rescue mission to extricate 12 boys and their soccer coach from the treacherous confines of a flooded cave in Thailand was complete — a grueling 18-day ordeal that claimed the life of an experienced diver and riveted people worldwide.
Thailand's Navy SEALs, who were central to the rescue effort, celebrated the feat with a post Tuesday evening that read: "All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave," — a reference to the boys' soccer team. "We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what."
Eight of the boys were rescued by a team of Thai and international divers on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, the final four boys and their coach were guided out of the cave. Their rescue was followed a few hours later by the safe return of a medic and three SEAL divers who had stayed for days with the boys in their cramped, dry refuge.
Cheers erupted from the dozens of volunteers and journalists awaiting news of whether the intricate and high-risk rescue mission had succeeded. Helicopters transporting the boys roared overhead. People on the street cheered and clapped when ambulances ferrying them on the last leg of their journey from the cave arrived at a hospital in Chiang Rai city in far northern Thailand near the Myanmar border.
Their joy and relief was echoed around the globe by the multitude of people who had followed the long ordeal.
Payap Maiming, who helped provide food and necessities to rescue workers and journalists, noted that fact.
"I'm happy for Thais all over the country," he said. "And actually just everyone in the world because every news channel has presented this story and this is what we have been waiting for."
"It's really a miracle," Payap said. "It's hope and faith that has brought us this success."
Amporn Sriwichai, an aunt of rescued coach Ekkapol Chantawong, was ecstatic. "If I see him, I just want to hug him and tell him that I missed him very much," she said.
The plight of the boys and their coach captivated much of the world — from the heart-sinking news that they were missing, to the first flickering video of the huddle of anxious yet smiling boys when they were found by a pair of British divers 10 days later. The group had entered the sprawling Tham Luang cave to go exploring after soccer practice on June 23, but monsoon rains soon filled the tight passageways, blocking their escape.
Each of the boys, ages 11 to 16 and with no diving experience, was guided out by a pair of divers in the three-day high-stakes operation. The route, in some places just a crawl space, had oxygen canisters positioned at regular intervals to refresh each team's air supply.
Highlighting the dangers, a former Thai Navy SEAL died Friday while replenishing the canisters.
Cave-diving experts had warned diving the youngsters out was potentially too risky. But Thai officials, acutely aware the monsoon rains could trap the boys for months, seized a window of opportunity provided by relatively mild weather. A massive effort to pump out water made the winding passageways more navigable. And the confidence of the diving team, and expertise specific to the cave, grew after its first successful mission Sunday.
"We did something nobody thought possible," Chiang Rai province acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn, leader of the rescue effort, said at a celebratory news conference.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, speaking Tuesday before the final rescue was completed, said the boys were given an anti-anxiety medication to help with their perilous removal from the cave.
Asked at a news conference in Bangkok if the boys had been sedated, Prayuth said: "Who would chloroform them? If they're chloroformed, how could they come out? It's called anxiolytic, something to make them not excited, not stressed."
Prayuth said the Tham Luang cave would be closed for some time to make it safe for visitors.
The first eight boys brought out were doing well and were in good spirits at the hospital. They received a treat on Tuesday: bread with chocolate spread that they had requested.
Jedsada Chokdumrongsuk, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry, said the boys rescued Sunday were able to eat normal food by Tuesday, though they couldn't yet take the spicy dishes favored by many Thais.
Two of the boys possibly have a lung infection but all eight are generally "healthy and smiling," he said.
"The kids are footballers, so they have high immune systems," Jedsada told a news conference. "Everyone is in high spirits and is happy to get out. But we will have a psychiatrist evaluate them."
It could be at least a week before they can be released from the hospital, he said.
For now the boys were in isolation to try to keep them safe from infections by outsiders. But family members have seen at least some of the boys from behind a glass barrier.
It was clear doctors were taking a cautious approach. Jedsada said they were uncertain what type of infections the boys could face "because we have never experienced this kind of issue from a deep cave."
If medical tests show no dangers after another two days, parents will be able to enter the isolation area dressed in sterilized clothing, staying 2 meters (yards) away from the boys, said another public health official, Tosthep Bunthong.
John Tangkitcharoenthawon, a local village chairman, was bursting with happiness over the successful rescue.
"If this place had a roof, the morale has gone straight through it," he said.
President Donald Trump joined those paying tribute to the rescuers.
"On behalf of the United States, congratulations to the Thai Navy SEALs and all on the successful rescue of the 12 boys and their coach from the treacherous cave in Thailand," he tweeted. "Such a beautiful moment — all freed, great job!"
One of soccer's most popular teams, Manchester United, expressed its relief over the rescue and invited the boys and their coach, as well as those who saved them, to come see the team play on their home ground this season.
A message posted on the English Premier League club's Twitter account said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected. We would love to welcome the team from Wild Boars Football Club and their rescuers to Old Trafford this coming season."
The international soccer federation, FIFA, had already invited the boys to attend the World Cup final in Russia this Sunday. However, doctors treating the boys said it was too soon for them to make the trip.
A former Thai navy SEAL working as part of the effort to rescue a soccer team trapped in a cave dies from lack of oxygen, authorities say. — AP
A team of British divers who helped save a junior football team stranded in a flooded cave in Thailand were among those awarded in Britain's traditional New Year Honours as announced.
The seven underwater specialists involved in the remarkable rescue were joined on the prestigious annual achievement list by Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan and former supermodel Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy. — AFP
Nine Australians involved in rescuing 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand receive bravery medals for putting their lives in danger during the treacherous ordeal.
Anesthetist Richard Harris and his dive buddy Craig Challen, a retired veterinarian, receive the Star of Courage, the second highest civilian bravery decoration in the Australian honors system after the Cross of Valor, Governor-General Peter Cosgrave said in a statement.
Six police and a navy diver receive the lesser Bravery Medal. — AP
The youth soccer teammates rescued after 18 days trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand are expected to be released from the hospital and to speak about their ordeal.
A news conference with the 12 boys and their coach is being arranged for the evening in the northern city of Chiang Rai, where the boys have been recovering in a hospital since last week. A conference hall that is being prepared as the venue for the news conference was decorated as a soccer field. — AP
The 12 boys and their soccer coach are recovering well and in a brief new video list their food wish lists while the health minister says they're expected to be discharged next week.
Video messages of the boys from a Saturday news conference show them still wearing surgical masks, a safeguard against infection since the last of them was pulled from a cave on Tuesday after being trapped for almost three weeks.
Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsattayatorn says all 13 are set to leave the hospital next Thursday. Doctors say they will still need to be closely monitored for physical and psychological effects of their ordeal. — AP
The Thai hospital where the 12 boys and their soccer coach are recuperating after being rescued from a flooded cave has released video showing them in their hospital beds, chatting with nurses and making two-finger victory signs.
The video shows the boys in an isolation ward in beds with crisp white sheets and wearing green surgical masks.
Some of their parents are seen crying and waving to them from behind glass. — AP
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