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Thailand cave boys: Found alive and in good health

Their discovery sparked jubilation across Thailand, but extracting them from flooded cave could still take a long time.

Relatives of 12 young soccer team members and their coach pray for their rescue after going missing in a large cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
Relatives of 12 young soccer team members and their coach pray for their rescue after going missing in a large cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
Published On 4 Jul 2018

A video shot by rescuers in flickering torchlight, 4km from the mouth of the cave in Thailand‘s northernmost province, showed boys sitting or standing on the rocks above an expanse of water.

Their skinny faces illuminated by a flashlight, the Thai football teammates stranded more than 10 days in a partly flooded cave said they were healthy, as heavy rains forecast for later this week could complicate plans to safely extract them.

The 12 boys and their coach are seen sitting with Thai navy SEALs in the dark cave. The boys, many wrapped in foil blankets, take turns introducing themselves, folding their hands together in a traditional greeting and saying their names and that they are healthy.

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The boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach disappeared after they went exploring in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Chiang Rai province after a football game June 23.

The teammates, who were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave, were found by rescue divers on Monday night during a desperate search that drew assistance from experts around the globe.

In this July 3, 2018, image taken from video provided by the Royal Thai Navy Facebook Page, a Thai boy smiles as Thai Navy SEAL medic help injured children inside a cave in Mae Sai, northern Thailand.
A Thai boy smiles as Thai Navy SEAL medic helps injured children inside the cave in Mae Sai. [Royal Thai Navy Facebook Page/AP Photo]
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Rescuer carry water pipe makes their way up at the entrance to a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai provinc
Rescuers carry water pipe makes their way up at the entrance to a cave complex where 12 boys and their football coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
A cave complex is seen after 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. Rescuers found all 12 boys and their soccer co
Rescuers found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive deep inside a partially flooded cave in northern Thailand. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
A rescuer makes his way down at the entrance to a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. Rescue
A rescuer makes his way down at the entrance to the cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
Family members of the 12 boys and their soccer coach watch a video clip of 12 boys on television after they were found alive, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4,
Family members of the 12 players and their football coach watch a video clip of boys on television after they were found alive. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
The aunt of coach Ekapol Chantawong shows a picture of the coach and his grandmother on a mobile phone screen, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Wednesday, July 4, 2018. With heav
The aunt of coach Ekapol Chantawong shows a picture of the coach and his grandmother on a mobile phone screen, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province. [Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo]
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Soldiers and rescue workers carry aid supplies to the Tham Luang cave complex, as members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach have been reported by local media to be found alive, in the norther
Soldiers and rescue workers carry aid supplies to the Tham Luang cave complex, as members of an under-16 football team and their coach have been found alive. [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]
A family member smiles near the Tham Luang cave complex, as members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach have been found alive according to local media, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, T
A family member smiles near the Tham Luang cave complex after the discovery of the team alive and well. [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]
In this July 3, 2018, image taken from video provided by the Thai Navy Seal, Thai boys are with Navy SEALs inside the cave, Mae Sai, northern Thailand. With heavy rains forecast to worsen flooding in
Thai boys are with Navy SEALs inside the cave, Mae Sai, northern Thailand. With heavy rains forecast to worsen flooding in a cave in where 12 boys and their football coach are waiting to be extracted by rescuers, authorities say they might be forced to have them swim out through a narrow, underwater passage. The 13 are described as healthy and being looked after by medics inside the cave. [Thai Navy Seal via AP Photo]
Rescue workers carry aid provisions near the Tham Luang cave complex, as members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach have been found alive according to local media, in the northern province of
Rescue workers carry aid provisions for trapped Moo Pa youth football team near the Tham Luang cave complex. [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]