Six of the 12 boys who were part of the group trapped in Thai caves have now been rescued successfully.
After spending two weeks stuck inside the series of caves, seven still remain trapped however.
The 12 members of a football team and their coach went missing in the caves two weeks ago. As the caves became flooded with heavy rain in the area, the rescue mission became a race against time.
The boys were located last week, after nine days, but the water made the group’s escape a terrible challenge.
Many of the boys do not know how to swim, and diving in the caves is extremely dangerous. One diver sadly lost his life in the search for the boys.
Yesterday though, (July 8), hope for the boys and their families began to rise, as four members of the group were guided out of the caves safely.
Today, two more of the boys have successfully been rescued.
The first of the two emerged from the caves this morning, with Reuters reporting:
Rescue workers in Thailand were seen carrying a person on a stretcher away from a cave complex and into a waiting ambulance on Monday.
A helicopter arrived at the scene, thought to be taking the boy to hospital, following the routine of the four boys who were rescued yesterday.
A source confirmed to The Guardian the sixth boy emerged from the cave, with the rescue mission seemingly getting faster now.
The sixth boy was assessed by medics at the site. It’s likely he’ll join the other rescued boys in Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital in Chiang Rai province.
Divers involved in the rescue mission have been guiding the boys from the cave through darkness, with the boys facing rocky inclines and water-filled passageways, wearing full-face masks which supply oxygen.
After rescuing the first four boys yesterday, the mission had to be paused to replenish oxygen supplies and give the divers a rest. The same divers who guided the boys yesterday are back in the caves today, continuing with their efforts.
Al Jazeera report two other boys are on their way to safety, but are still a little way away from the cave entrance.
Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre coordinating the operation, has explained the operation and mentioned it’ll be the ‘most ready’ boys who are rescued first, The Guardian report.
He said:
The factors are as good as yesterday [and] the rescue team is the same team with a few replacements for those exhausted.
The water level is not worrisome.
He went on to say the four boys rescued yesterday were focused on the food they were going to get.
He continued:
This morning they complained that they were hungry and they asked for khao pad kraprow [basil chicken with rice].
Including their 25-year-old football coach, there are now seven members of the group still in the cave. Hopefully they’ll make a successful escape before too long.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to stories@unilad.co.uk.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.