Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
First boys rescued from Thailand Cave after being trapped for 2 weeks
Four young soccer players have been rescued from the Tham Luang Cave in Thailand after weeks of uncertainty, ominous weather conditions and a concerted effort from divers and rescuers from all over the world working to save the trapped soccer team.
One of the four rescued boys.
The first two boys were freed from the cave before 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the former Chiang Rai governor who has been heading rescue efforts, at a press conference. Two additional boys were later rescued.
All four were promptly whisked to the hospital, said Osatanakorn, The Guardian reported. Several ambulances and a helicopter were seen leaving the cave site on Sunday evening. Locals reportedly cheered and whooped as the helicopter flew by.
Osatanakorn said the boys’ health was “perfect” and said the operation had been “more successful than I expected.”
“Everyone’s happy,” he said.
Nine people remain trapped inside the cave ¯ 8 boys and their 25-year-old coach. Osatanakorn said the rescue mission had been put on hold for the time being because ”we’ve used all the oxygen” and supplies needed to be replenished.
He estimated that the rescue operation would resume in “10 to 20 hours.” The Guardian said the mission was expected to recommence Monday at 8 a.m. local time.
The mission to rescue the 12 young boys and their coach from the cave, located in the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, began on Sunday at 10 a.m. local time.
Eighteen rescuers, including 13 foreign divers and five Thai Navy SEALS, entered the cave with plans to remove the stranded boys one by one, said Osatanakorn during an earlier press conference.
Officials had originally said the earliest a boy could be rescued would be 9 p.m. Sunday, but the first two boys emerged from the cave about three hours ahead of schedule.
“We can say they are all international all-stars involved in this diving operation and we selected five of our best who can work with them,” The Guardian reported the rescue chief as saying. Rescue officials have been preparing for this rescue attempt all week. On Saturday, the “water levels were the lowest they had been,” Osatanakorn said, adding that most of the cave system was walkable.
Osatanakorn revealed on Sunday night that the four freed boys had to dive more than half a mile to get to safety nonetheless. The boys wore full-faced masks “while hanging on to the bodies of rescue divers.” (Carla Herreria/HuffPost)
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