1155 UTC: Thai navy SEALs say all 12 boys and their coach have been rescued after more than two weeks in a cave in northern Thailand.
“The 12 Wild Boars and coach have emerged from the cave and they are safe,” the Thai navy SEAL unit said on its official Facebook page. Wild Boars is the name of the soccer team.
1151 UTC: A twelfth person was rescued on Tuesday from a flooded Thai cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped, a Reuters witness said, apparently leaving just one more to be brought out to safety.
1108 UTC: A witness told Reuters three more people were carried out of the Tham Luang cave on Tuesday, raising hope the remaining two would be out by the end of the day
1048 UTC: A ninth boy was rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand on Tuesday. Thailand’s Navy SEALs said on their Facebook page that “the 9th Wild Boar was out of the cave at 4:06 p.m.."
1013 UTC: Rescue leaders said divers are carrying out what they hope is a final mission Tuesday to save the remaining four boys and their coach in a flooded cave in northern Thailand.
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8 Out of 13 Rescued from Flooded Cave in Thailand
Thai officials say four boys were brought out of a flooded cave in northern Thailand on Monday.
A witness near the cave told the Reuters news agency that medical workers carried four people to emergency rescue vehicles.
They will join four other boys who were rescued on Sunday. They had been trapped inside the Tham Luang cave for more than two weeks.
Four other youngsters and their soccer coach are still inside. Rescue operations have halted for the night and will restart on Tuesday.
Rescued schoolboys are moved from a military helicopter to an awaiting ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Sunday night, teams of divers brought out four of the trapped boys to waiting ambulances. But officials waited several hours before confirming their rescue.
Thai officials started the rescue operation on Sunday as weather experts predicted more rain in the coming weeks. Divers escorted the children, who wore equipment to help them breathe. Other divers were on guard along the dangerous first kilometer of the passageway. In some places, the boys had to be carried under flooded areas, some as narrow as 0.6 meters wide.
Narongsak Osottanakorn, head of the rescue operation, said a team of divers went back into the cave Monday morning, local time.
He added that the divers were the “same multinational team” that rescued the four boys on Sunday. Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand’s navy SEAL unit are taking part in the rescue operation. Last week, a former Thai navy diver died while preparing for the operation.
Narongsak would not identify the rescued boys. He said it was out of respect for the families whose sons were still trapped in the cave. He added, “They still need to be kept away from their parents and others due to fear about infection.”
Boys from the soccer team trapped inside Tham Luang cave covered in hypothermia blankets react to the camera in Chiang Rai, Thailand, in this still image taken from a July 3, 2018 video by Thai Navy Seal. Thai Navy Seal/Handout via REUTERS
Somboon Sompiangjai is the father of one of the 12 boys. He said rescuers told the parents that the “strongest children” would be brought out first.
He told Reuters, “We have not been told which child has been brought out ... We can’t visit our boys in hospital because they need to be monitored for 48 hours. I’m hoping for good news.”
People around the world are following the developments in Thailand.
United States President Donald Trump wrote Sunday on Twitter: “The U.S. is working very closely with the Government of Thailand to help get all of the children out of the cave and to safety. Very brave and talented people!”
Gianna Infantino, the president of FIFA, soccer’s governing body, has invited the boys to the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
Hai Do adapted this story based on AP and Reuters news reports. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
coach - n. a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer
ambulance - n. a vehicle used for taking hurt or sick people to hospital in emergencies
escort - v. to go with someone to give protection or guidance
unit - n. a group
monitor - v. watch, observe
talented - adj. having special ability to do something well