12 Boys, Missing in Flooded Thailand Cave, Are Found Alive

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MAE SAI, Thailand — Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been found alive nine days after they were trapped by rising floodwaters in a cave complex in northern Thailand, a provincial governor announced on Monday.

In an interview, the governor of Chiang Rai Province, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said that the boys and their coach were alive, but that he did not know their condition. The cave complex is flooded, and rescue workers are trying to care for the boys and get them in a condition where they can be moved for medical care, the governor said.

A team of rescuers had used huge pumps to reduce the water level, allowing divers to place guide ropes and air tanks along the route to reach the site of the trapped boys. Getting the boys and their coach out will be tricky.

The search for the boys, who range in age from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach has riveted the nation, along with soccer fans around the world. The team disappeared on June 23.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun had said he was following events closely, helping to focus the attention of government officials.