BANGKOK – All members of a youth football team and their coach were rescued successfully on Tuesday from a cave in northern Thailand, bringing an end to a days-long operation that made headlines across the world.
Four remaining boys and their 25-year-old coach Ekapol Chantawong emerged from the Tham Luang cave complex in the final leg of the operation, after eight of their teammates had already been saved earlier.
“Twelve Wild Boars [team members] and their coach are out of the cave,” the Thai Navy SEALs said on Facebook.
The first boy to exit the cave on Tuesday came out on 16:06 local time (09:06 GMT), Thai Navy SEALs said and nearly three hours later, the coach was reported to have emerged from the cave.
The group will now be transferred to a hospital in Chiang Rai’s state capital where they will stay for observation for at least seven days.
The “Wild Boars” soccer team and their coach -13 in total – got trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex after soccer practice but unfortunately, a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels leaving them entangled.
Though the city is celebrating the successful rescue, they are also in tears owing to the death of a former Thai navy diver Saman Kunan who died last Friday while on a re-supply mission inside the cave.
