After more than two weeks trapped inside a cave complex in northern Thailand, all 12 boys and their football coach have finally been rescued.
The last four members of the youth team and their coach were pulled out of the cave on Tuesday afternoon, the third day of a huge international operation to save them.
Nineteen divers assisted in the operation on Tuesday.
The boys were exploring the caves on June 23 with their coach when they were trapped inside by heavy seasonal rains.
After they were found on July 2, officials cautioned it could take some time to get them out, but with heavy rain forecast to hit the region authorities decided to act.
The miraculous venture was fraught with danger and uncertainty from the start, as rescuers and volunteers from around the world flocked to the mouth of the cave to brainstorm on a plan to bring the boys and coach out safely once they were located.
Officials said the first eight of the boys rescued were healthy, though two of the four brought out on Tuesday did have swollen lungs.
“They are good physically and mentally,” a health official said at a separate press conference from Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital.
“The second four, we moved them yesterday from the cave, the age is from 12 to 14,” the commission commander of the medical department said Tuesday.
“They were alert and able to identify themselves. When they arrived at Chiang Rai hospital there was a primary medical examination conducted on all four of them. All four are healthy.”
