Thai officials say the same team of divers who successfully extracted four boys form the flooded cave in Chiag Rai will also conduct the next rescue mission.
Eight boys and their coach remain trapped in the chamber where they were found one week ago. On Monday, the young football team entered their 17th day lost inside the cave complex, which flooded suddenly from monsoon rains while they were exploring it after a match on 23 June.
Several hours of heavy rain hit the region again on Sunday night, dampening the hopes raised by the day’s successful rescue operation. The four boys saved yesterday have been taken to hospital and are said to be in good condition after their ordeal.
Live Updates
Thailand’s interior minister says the same divers who took part in Sunday’s extraordinary rescue of four boys will also conduct the next operation, thought it remains unclear just now when that will start.
Officials are meeting this morning to discuss the next stage of the operation and how to extract the remaining nine people from the cave in the country’s north – eight boys and their football coach.
Mr Anupong said divers need to replenish the supply of air canisters stashed along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped since 23 June. He said that this process can take several hours.
He said the boys rescued Sunday are strong and safe but need to undergo detailed medical checks.
Sunlight has just broken through grey skies in the north of Thailand, writes Matt Bloomberg from the Chiang Rai cave site, as the operation to evacuate a boys’ football team from the flooded cave system outside the township of Mae Sai moves into day two.
Spirits are at their highest point since the 12 boys and their coach went missing on 23 June, following the successful removal yesterday of four boys from a dark and dangerous network of caves inundated with muddy flood waters.
The acting provincial governor labeled yesterday’s operation a “masterpiece”, and said that the four boys were receiving treatment at a hospital in the provincial capital of Chiang Rai, about 60 km from the caves.
Classmates of the missing boys have been released from school and have joined the hundreds of volunteers working on logistics, as the town buzzes with excitement ahead of the expected removal today of at least some of the remaining boys.
No official timeline has been announced for today’s operation. Divers assembled at the mouth of the cave around 9am.
We’ll start with a recap of the extraordinary events of Sunday, when four of the 12 boys trapped in the caves here in Mae Sai were effectively carried out through the network of flooded tunnels and passage-ways by a team of world-leading cave divers.
The four, who have not been named, were taken for treatment in a hospital in the provincial capital of Chiang Rai.
In a press conference shortly before 9pm (3pm BST) last night, acting governor Narongsak Osatanakon gave no indication of the boys’ mental or health state, other than saying that they were “well”.
“The rescuers swam through the cave while holding the boys beneath their bodies,” Mr Narongsak said of the perilous journey through narrow caves with jagged edges. The divers are believed to have had to detach their oxygen tanks in order to pass through some of the tightest stretches.
While those rescued are now being treated in hospital after more than two weeks trapped inside the flooded cave, eight boys and their football coach remain perched on a ledge of about 10 square metres.
The governor said that the rescue effort could only resume if the conditions were right, and after the divers had had between 10 and 20 hours to replenish themselves and prepare their equipment to head back.
Read the full story from Matt Bloomberg at the caves in Mae Sai, here:
Please allow the live blog a moment to load
Rescuers at the Thai cave woke up to cloudy skies on Monday. It was not immediately clear how the overnight rains had impacted water levels inside the flooded cave. Officials have said storms forecast for Chiang Rai province in Thailand‘s far north had factored into their decision to go ahead with a complicated and dangerous plan to have the boys and their coach dive out of the cave.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department said there was a 60 per cent chance of rain Monday with thunderstorms forecast throughout the week.
Four of the boys were rescued on Sunday, and authorities said the next phase could begin any time within a 10-hour window that began about 7am Monday.
Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures
1/63
Thai soldiers arrives at the Tham Luang cave area as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their coach trapped at the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 6, 2018. A former Thai navy diver helping to rescue a football team trapped inside a flooded cave died July 6 as officials warned the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is “limited”.
AFP/Getty
2/63
A group of volunteers prepare to leave in search of alternative entry points to the Tham Luang cave area as rescue operation continues for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in the cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 6, 2018. Thai rescuers on July 5 said they may be prodded into a complex extraction of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave if forecast rains hammer the mountainside and jeopardise the rescue mission
AFP/Getty
3/63
Hundreds of rescuers with equipment continue the rescue operation at the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on July 06, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 15-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely
Getty
4/63
Monks lead out family members of the boys from the cave site after a morning prayer on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty
5/63
Water pumps push water out of the cave on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty
6/63
Thail soldiers and police officers are seen as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018. More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said on July 7
AFP/Getty
7/63
Thai rescue workers take a break as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018. More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said on July 7
AFP/Getty
8/63
Relatives, of the 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave in the Tham Luang cave complex cook, for rescue workers and volunteers near the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
9/63
Soliders are seen near the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are trapped inside a flooded cave, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
10/63
Family members pray in front of a Buddhist statue near a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. The soccer coach trapped in a cave with 12 Thai boys apologized to their parents in the first letter he and the team have sent out through divers, in which the boys say they’re doing well and missing their families
AP
11/63
Thai soldiers try to connect water pipes to bypass water from mountain not get back to inside a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region.
AP
12/63
Thai soldiers drag a water pipe to bypass water from mountain not get back to inside a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region.
AP
13/63
Rescue teams carry water pipes to the entrance of cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand.
AP
14/63
Australian Federal Police and Defense Force personnel talk with a Thai diver after the 12 boys and their soccer coach were found alive in a flooded cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
15/63
A rescuer prepares a light for diving to reach the 12 boys and their soccer coach found alive in a flooded cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
16/63
water is pumped from a flooded cave believed to be trapping a soccer team and their coach in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
17/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
18/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
19/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave
EPA
20/63
Thai rescuers rest during the ongoing rescue operation for the child soccer team and their assistant coach at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 07 July 2018. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018.
EPA
21/63
A handout photo made available by the Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
22/63
This undated handout photo taken recently and released by the Royal Thai Navy on July 7, 2018 shows Thai Navy soldiers in the flooded Tham Luang cave during rescue operations for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in the cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province.
AFP/Getty Images
23/63
Local Thai National Park Rescuers relax at base camp on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty Images
24/63
Journalists work near Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are trapped inside a flooded cave, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand,
REUTERS
25/63
A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall near the Tham Luang cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018, as rescue operation continues for the 12 boys and their football team coach. Scrawled deep inside a mountain in northern Thailand, heartwarming fragments of communication from trapped youngsters have reached families keeping vigil for two excruciating weeks at the entrance to the cave complex.
AFP/Getty Images
26/63
AFP/Getty Images
27/63
28/63
Divers gather before they enter to the Tham Luang cave, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
29/63
Thai military bring water pumps to the cave. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows that the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty Images
30/63
An honour guard holds up a picture of Samarn Kunan, 38, a former member of Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit who died working to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave, at an airport in Rayong province
REUTERS
31/63
Military personnel are seen in front of the Tham Luang cave
REUTERS
32/63
The former navy SEAL diver, Saman Kunan, who died trying to help save the trapped boys
Saman Kunan/Facebook
33/63
Rescue workers convene behind a large pile of oxygen tanks
AFP/Getty Images
34/63
A Buddhist monk leads military honor guards carrying a flag-draped coffin containing former Thai Navy Seal Petty Officer 1st class Saman Kunan, who died in the ongoing Tham Luang cave rescue operations, during a repatriation ceremony at Mae Fah Luang international airport.
EPA
35/63
Thai students pray for the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
36/63
Thai soldiers and police officers pay their respects as a Thai Navy plane carrying the body of Saman Kunan takes off
AFP/Getty Images
37/63
Rescue workers prepare frogsuits for soldiers
AFP/Getty Images
38/63
The diver’s death raises serious doubts over the safety of attempting to bring the 12 boys and their football coach out through the cramped, waterlogged passageways of the Tham Luang cave.
AP
39/63
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
40/63
A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
41/63
Thai rescue teams use headlamps to enter a pitch-black cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, Monday, July 2, 2018. The group was discovered late July 2 after 10 days totally cut off from the outside world, and while they are for the most physically healthy, experts say the ordeal has likely taken a mental toll that could worsen the longer the situation lasts.
AP
42/63
The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
43/63
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
44/63
Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
45/63
The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
46/63
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
47/63
A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
48/63
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
49/63
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
50/63
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
51/63
A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
52/63
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
53/63
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
54/63
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
55/63
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
56/63
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
57/63
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
58/63
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
59/63
General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
60/63
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
61/63
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
62/63
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
63/63
Rescue workers prepare oxygen tanks for the rescue mission. It is thought that the boys may have to be taught how to dive in order to escape the cave
EPA
1/63
Thai soldiers arrives at the Tham Luang cave area as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their coach trapped at the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 6, 2018. A former Thai navy diver helping to rescue a football team trapped inside a flooded cave died July 6 as officials warned the window of opportunity to free the youngsters is “limited”.
AFP/Getty
2/63
A group of volunteers prepare to leave in search of alternative entry points to the Tham Luang cave area as rescue operation continues for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in the cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 6, 2018. Thai rescuers on July 5 said they may be prodded into a complex extraction of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave if forecast rains hammer the mountainside and jeopardise the rescue mission
AFP/Getty
3/63
Hundreds of rescuers with equipment continue the rescue operation at the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on July 06, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 15-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely
Getty
4/63
Monks lead out family members of the boys from the cave site after a morning prayer on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty
5/63
Water pumps push water out of the cave on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty
6/63
Thail soldiers and police officers are seen as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018. More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said on July 7
AFP/Getty
7/63
Thai rescue workers take a break as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018. More than 100 chimneys are being drilled into the mountainside in a frantic bid to reach a Thai youth football team trapped in a cave complex below, the head of the rescue mission said on July 7
AFP/Getty
8/63
Relatives, of the 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave in the Tham Luang cave complex cook, for rescue workers and volunteers near the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
9/63
Soliders are seen near the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are trapped inside a flooded cave, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
10/63
Family members pray in front of a Buddhist statue near a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. The soccer coach trapped in a cave with 12 Thai boys apologized to their parents in the first letter he and the team have sent out through divers, in which the boys say they’re doing well and missing their families
AP
11/63
Thai soldiers try to connect water pipes to bypass water from mountain not get back to inside a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region.
AP
12/63
Thai soldiers drag a water pipe to bypass water from mountain not get back to inside a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Saturday, July 7, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region.
AP
13/63
Rescue teams carry water pipes to the entrance of cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand.
AP
14/63
Australian Federal Police and Defense Force personnel talk with a Thai diver after the 12 boys and their soccer coach were found alive in a flooded cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
15/63
A rescuer prepares a light for diving to reach the 12 boys and their soccer coach found alive in a flooded cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
16/63
water is pumped from a flooded cave believed to be trapping a soccer team and their coach in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
AP
17/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
18/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
19/63
Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave
EPA
20/63
Thai rescuers rest during the ongoing rescue operation for the child soccer team and their assistant coach at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 07 July 2018. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018.
EPA
21/63
A handout photo made available by the Thai Royal Navy on 07 July 2018 shows Thai military personnel inside a cave complex during the ongoing rescue operations for the youth soccer team and their assistant coach, at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018
EPA
22/63
This undated handout photo taken recently and released by the Royal Thai Navy on July 7, 2018 shows Thai Navy soldiers in the flooded Tham Luang cave during rescue operations for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in the cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province.
AFP/Getty Images
23/63
Local Thai National Park Rescuers relax at base camp on July 7, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys and their soccer coach have been found alive in the cave where they’ve been missing for over a week after monsoon rains blocked the main entrance in northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty Images
24/63
Journalists work near Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach are trapped inside a flooded cave, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand,
REUTERS
25/63
A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall near the Tham Luang cave at the Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 7, 2018, as rescue operation continues for the 12 boys and their football team coach. Scrawled deep inside a mountain in northern Thailand, heartwarming fragments of communication from trapped youngsters have reached families keeping vigil for two excruciating weeks at the entrance to the cave complex.
AFP/Getty Images
26/63
AFP/Getty Images
27/63
28/63
Divers gather before they enter to the Tham Luang cave, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand
REUTERS
29/63
Thai military bring water pumps to the cave. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows that the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely.
Getty Images
30/63
An honour guard holds up a picture of Samarn Kunan, 38, a former member of Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit who died working to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a flooded cave, at an airport in Rayong province
REUTERS
31/63
Military personnel are seen in front of the Tham Luang cave
REUTERS
32/63
The former navy SEAL diver, Saman Kunan, who died trying to help save the trapped boys
Saman Kunan/Facebook
33/63
Rescue workers convene behind a large pile of oxygen tanks
AFP/Getty Images
34/63
A Buddhist monk leads military honor guards carrying a flag-draped coffin containing former Thai Navy Seal Petty Officer 1st class Saman Kunan, who died in the ongoing Tham Luang cave rescue operations, during a repatriation ceremony at Mae Fah Luang international airport.
EPA
35/63
Thai students pray for the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
36/63
Thai soldiers and police officers pay their respects as a Thai Navy plane carrying the body of Saman Kunan takes off
AFP/Getty Images
37/63
Rescue workers prepare frogsuits for soldiers
AFP/Getty Images
38/63
The diver’s death raises serious doubts over the safety of attempting to bring the 12 boys and their football coach out through the cramped, waterlogged passageways of the Tham Luang cave.
AP
39/63
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
40/63
A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
41/63
Thai rescue teams use headlamps to enter a pitch-black cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, Monday, July 2, 2018. The group was discovered late July 2 after 10 days totally cut off from the outside world, and while they are for the most physically healthy, experts say the ordeal has likely taken a mental toll that could worsen the longer the situation lasts.
AP
42/63
The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
43/63
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
44/63
Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
45/63
The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
46/63
Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
47/63
A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
48/63
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
49/63
A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
50/63
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
51/63
A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
52/63
British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
53/63
Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
54/63
A rescuer enters the cave
AP
55/63
The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
56/63
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
57/63
Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
58/63
Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
59/63
General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
60/63
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
61/63
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
62/63
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
63/63
Rescue workers prepare oxygen tanks for the rescue mission. It is thought that the boys may have to be taught how to dive in order to escape the cave
EPA
In comments released by the government, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said officials were meeting about the next stage of the operation and how to extract the remaining nine people from the cave in the country’s north.
Anupong said divers need to place more air canisters along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped. He said that process can take several hours.
He said the boys rescued on Sunday are strong and safe but need to undergo detailed medical checks.
