All members of the football team trapped in a flooded cave network in Thailand have been rescued and the last to leave are on route to hospital.
Thailand’s Navy SEALs, who have been leading the mission to save the boys, said those brought out of the cave today are all safe. Four divers who have been living with the team for more than a week are still on their way out.
It marks a stunning turnaround in what seemed an almost hopeless situation for the 12 boys and their coach, who spent 17 days trapped on a dry slope surrounded by floodwaters, one mile underground.
Even after they were located in the cave by British volunteer divers, the operation to save the “Wild Boars” team took eight days including planning, culminating in three daring missions to dive the boys out of their cave in stages.
Sections of the dive were so narrow that divers could only just squeeze through, pushing their breathing apparatus in front of them, while the oxygen supply in the caves had to be continuously replenished. One former Navy SEAL died while volunteering on the mission, underscoring the danger to all involved.
But with the Thai prime minister in attendance at the scene, the last boy and the team coach were brought out and stretchered to ambulances as dusk fell on Tuesday evening.
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