In pics: "Miracle or science?"-Thai cave rescuers lead all 12 boys, coach to safety

CHIANG RAI, Thailand - 10 July 2018: All 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped for more than two weeks deep inside a flooded Thai cave have been rescued, a Thai navy SEAL unit said on Tuesday, a successful end to a perilous mission that gripped the world.



"We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave," the SEAL unit said on its Facebook page, adding all were safe.


Rescued schoolboys are moved from a military helicopter to an awaiting ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 9, 2018. REUTERS

The "Wild Boars" soccer team, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai after soccer practice and a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.

British divers found the 13, hungry and huddled in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometres inside the complex, on Monday last week.

After pondering for days how to get the 13 out, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday when four of the boys were brought out, tethered to rescue divers.

Another four were rescued on Monday and the last four boys and the coach were brought out on Tuesday.


Mae Sai, Thailand : CORRECTION / This handout video grab taken from footage released by the Royal Thai Navy on July 4, 2018 and taken on July 3 shows Adul Sam-on (R), a member of a Thai youth football team who is trapped with 11 other children and their coach, gesturing as he sits inside the Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai province. Born in Myanmar, raised by Christian teachers in Thailand, and trapped in a flooded cave for 13 days, Adul Sam-on is a stateless boy being praised for his unflinching politeness, English skills and composure throughout his underground ordeal. Images of the wide-eyed teen were beamed around the world when he was discovered alive with his young football team and their coach nine days after they went missing in the waterlogged Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand.

Celebrations will be tinged with sadness over the loss of a former Thai navy diver who died on Friday while on a re-supply mission inside the cave.

The last five were brought out of the cave on stretchers, one by one over the course of Tuesday, and taken by helicopter to hospital.

Three members of the SEAL unit and an army doctor, who has stayed with the boys since they were found, were the last people due to come out of the cave, the unit said.

Officials did not comment on the rescue mission as it took place, so details of the final day of the rescue and the condition of the last five to be brought out were not immediately known.

The eight boys brought out on Sunday and Monday were in good health overall and some asked for chocolate bread for breakfast, officials said earlier.

Two of the boys had suspected lung infections but the four boys from the first group rescued were all walking around in hospital.

Volunteers from as far away as Australia and the United States helped with the effort to rescue the boys. U.S. military personnel also helped.

U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the rescue.

"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," Trump said on Twitter.

"Such a beautiful moment - all freed, great job!"

Authorities did not reveal the identity of the boys as they were brought out, one by one. Parents of the four boys rescued on Sunday were allowed to see them through a glass window at the hospital, public health officials said on Tuesday, but they will be quarantined for the time being.

Officials said the rescued boys had not been identified out of respect for the families whose sons were still trapped.

The boys were still being quarantined from their parents because of the risk of infection and would likely be kept in hospital for a week for tests, officials said earlier.

Mae Sai, Thailand : This handout video grab taken from footage released by the Royal Thai Navy late July 2, 2018, shows missing children inside the Tham Luang cave of Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province. Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nine days were found alive after a painstaking search by specialist divers who finally discovered the emaciated group on a mud embankment. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /ROYAL THAI NAVY"