Divers have entered the cave in Thailand where four boys and their football coach remained trapped this morning, hoping to complete a final mission to bring out all five today.
Acting Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, who is leading the operation, said the international rescue team entered the cave at 10.08am this morning (4.08am BST).
Water levels inside the cave were stable and under control despite ongoing rainfall since around 1am, he said. “Barring abnormalities, all five remaining inside the cave will be brought out today.”
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Jedsada Chokdumrongsuk, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry, said the first four boys rescued, aged 12 to 16, are now able to eat normal food.
Two of them possibly have a lung infection but all eight are generally “healthy and smiling,” he said.
“The kids are footballers so they have high immune systems,” Mr Jedsada said. “Everyone is in high spirits and are happy to get out. But we will have a psychiatrist to evaluate them.”
It could be at least seven days before they can be released from hospital, Mr Jesada told a news conference.
Family members have seen at least some of the boys from behind a glass isolation barrier, and Mr Jedsada said doctors may let the boys walk around their beds on Tuesday.
Mr Jedsada said they were uncertain what type of infections the boys could face “because we have never experienced this kind of issue from a deep cave.”
The second group of four rescued on Monday are aged 12 to 14.
A total of 12 boys and the coach went missing on the 23 June when they went to explore the caves after a football match. They spent around nine days trapped on a dry slope in the flooded network without being contacted, and then another week underground while the authorities came up with ideas to get them out.
The first four boys were rescued on Sunday, and another four were brought out by the same team of divers on Monday.
Sunday’s operation took 11 hours, while day two took just 9 hours, Mr Narongsak said, adding that: “Today, we expect to equal yesterday or even better.”
Diverhave entered the cave in Thailand where four boys and their football coach remained trapped this morning, hoping to complete a final mission to bring out all five today.
Acting Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, who is leading the operation, said the international rescue team entered the cave at 10.08am this morning (4.08am BST).
Water levels inside the cave were stable and under control despite ongoing rainfall since around 1am, he said. “Barring abnormalities, all five remaining inside the cave will be brought out today.”
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A total of 12 boys and the coach went missing on the 23 June when they went to explore the caves after a football match. They spent around nine days trapped on a dry slope in the flooded network without being contacted, and then another week underground while the authorities came up with ideas to get them out.
The first four boys were rescued on Sunday, and another four were brought out by the same team of divers on Monday.
Sunday’s operation took 11 hours, while day two took just 9 hours, Mr Narongsak said, adding that: “Today, we expect to equal yesterday or even better.”
Thailand cave rescue operation: in pictures
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Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover a stretcher near a helicopter and an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai as rescue operations continue for those still trapped inside the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district. Four boys among the group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on July 8 after surviving a treacherous escape, raising hopes elite divers would also save the others soon
AFP/Getty
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Thai military medical personnel walking inside a restricted area as preparations are made to transport rescued boys from Tham Luang cave to a hospital
EPA
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Thai authorities placing a rescued boy in an ambulance
EPA/Chiang Rai
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Paramedics, believed to be carrying a boy who has been evacuated after being trapped inside a flooded cave, approach a helicopter in Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai Tourist Police via Reuters
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This frame grab from video tweeted by Elon Musk shows a “tiny kid-sized submarine” being tested in a pool at Palisades Charter High School, in California. Musk’s Space X rocket company tested the submarine that could potentially help rescue the remaining children and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.
Elon Musk via AP
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Thai military personnel preparing to move the boys to a hospital
EPA
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Emergency workers carrying one of the boys rescued from the cave
EPA/Chiang Rai
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A Thai nurse walks past an ambulance at a covered area of the Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital
EPA
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Indian schoolchildren hold placards and pictures during a prayer event for the safe rescue of young football players and their coach
AFP/Getty Images
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An ambulance exits from the Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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A military helicopter carrying rescued schoolboys approaches to land at a military airport in Chiang Rai.
REUTERS
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A group of volunteers prepare to leave in search of alternative entry points to the Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty
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Thai soldiers drag a water pipe to bypass water from the mountain and to not get back inside the cave
AP
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Hundreds of rescuers with equipment continue the rescue operation
Getty
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Monks lead out family members of the boys from the cave site after a morning prayer
Getty
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Thai rescue workers take a break
AFP/Getty
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Water pumps push water out of the cave
Getty
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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
REUTERS
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Rescue teams carry water pipes to the entrance of cave complex
AP
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Thai 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
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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
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Thai military inside the cave complex
EPA
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Australian Federal Police and Defense Force personnel talk with a Thai diver
AP
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A rescuer prepares a light for diving to reach the 12 boys and their soccer coach
AP
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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
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Water is pumped from a flooded cave
AP
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Thai military inside the cave complex
EPA
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Thai rescuers rest during the ongoing rescue operation
EPA
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Thai military personnel inside a cave complex
EPA
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Thai Navy soldiers in the flooded Tham Luang cave during rescue operations
AFP/Getty Images
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Local Thai National Park Rescuers relax at base camp
Getty Images
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Journalists work near Tham Luang cave complex
REUTERS
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A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall
AFP/Getty Images
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A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall near the Tham Luang cave
AFP/Getty Images
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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
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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
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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
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Military personnel are seen in front of the Tham Luang cave
REUTERS
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The former navy SEAL diver, Saman Kunan, who died trying to help save the trapped boys
Saman Kunan/Facebook
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Rescue workers convene behind a large pile of oxygen tanks
AFP/Getty Images
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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
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Thai students pray for the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
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Thai soldiers and police officers pay their respects as a Thai Navy plane carrying the body of Saman Kunan takes off
AFP/Getty Images
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Rescue workers prepare frogsuits for soldiers
AFP/Getty Images
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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
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Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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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
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The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
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Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
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The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
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Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
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A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
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Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
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A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
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A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
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British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
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Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
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A rescuer enters the cave
AP
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The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
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Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
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Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
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Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
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General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
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With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
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With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
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Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
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Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover a stretcher near a helicopter and an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai as rescue operations continue for those still trapped inside the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district. Four boys among the group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on July 8 after surviving a treacherous escape, raising hopes elite divers would also save the others soon
AFP/Getty
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Thai military medical personnel walking inside a restricted area as preparations are made to transport rescued boys from Tham Luang cave to a hospital
EPA
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Thai authorities placing a rescued boy in an ambulance
EPA/Chiang Rai
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Paramedics, believed to be carrying a boy who has been evacuated after being trapped inside a flooded cave, approach a helicopter in Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai Tourist Police via Reuters
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This frame grab from video tweeted by Elon Musk shows a “tiny kid-sized submarine” being tested in a pool at Palisades Charter High School, in California. Musk’s Space X rocket company tested the submarine that could potentially help rescue the remaining children and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.
Elon Musk via AP
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Thai military personnel preparing to move the boys to a hospital
EPA
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Emergency workers carrying one of the boys rescued from the cave
EPA/Chiang Rai
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A Thai nurse walks past an ambulance at a covered area of the Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital
EPA
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Indian schoolchildren hold placards and pictures during a prayer event for the safe rescue of young football players and their coach
AFP/Getty Images
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An ambulance exits from the Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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A military helicopter carrying rescued schoolboys approaches to land at a military airport in Chiang Rai.
REUTERS
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A group of volunteers prepare to leave in search of alternative entry points to the Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty
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Thai soldiers drag a water pipe to bypass water from the mountain and to not get back inside the cave
AP
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Hundreds of rescuers with equipment continue the rescue operation
Getty
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Monks lead out family members of the boys from the cave site after a morning prayer
Getty
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Thai rescue workers take a break
AFP/Getty
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Water pumps push water out of the cave
Getty
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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
REUTERS
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Rescue teams carry water pipes to the entrance of cave complex
AP
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Thai 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
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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
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Thai military inside the cave complex
EPA
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Australian Federal Police and Defense Force personnel talk with a Thai diver
AP
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A rescuer prepares a light for diving to reach the 12 boys and their soccer coach
AP
25/70
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
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Water is pumped from a flooded cave
AP
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Thai military inside the cave complex
EPA
28/70
Thai rescuers rest during the ongoing rescue operation
EPA
29/70
Thai military personnel inside a cave complex
EPA
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Thai Navy soldiers in the flooded Tham Luang cave during rescue operations
AFP/Getty Images
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Local Thai National Park Rescuers relax at base camp
Getty Images
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Journalists work near Tham Luang cave complex
REUTERS
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A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall
AFP/Getty Images
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A Thai policeman guards an area under rainfall near the Tham Luang cave
AFP/Getty Images
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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
37/70
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
38/70
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
39/70
Military personnel are seen in front of the Tham Luang cave
REUTERS
40/70
The former navy SEAL diver, Saman Kunan, who died trying to help save the trapped boys
Saman Kunan/Facebook
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Rescue workers convene behind a large pile of oxygen tanks
AFP/Getty Images
42/70
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
43/70
Thai students pray for the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
44/70
Thai soldiers and police officers pay their respects as a Thai Navy plane carrying the body of Saman Kunan takes off
AFP/Getty Images
45/70
Rescue workers prepare frogsuits for soldiers
AFP/Getty Images
46/70
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
47/70
Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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A family member prays before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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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
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The mother of a trapped child reacts during the ongoing rescue operations
EPA
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Family members pray before a shrine in Tham Luang cave area
AFP/Getty Images
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Grandmother Kham-aoey Promthep, 64, shows a photograph of her grandson, Duangpetch Promthep, who is one of 13 members
EPA
53/70
The 12 boys and their coach in the cave
REUTERS
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Rescue teams assemble at the entrance to the Tham Luang cave complex
AP
55/70
A Thai student shows an image of her classmate Panumas Sangdee, who is one of 13 members of a soccer team trapped
EPA
56/70
Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum visits the site to perform religious rituals
Getty Images
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A relative shows a picture of the boys after they were found on 2 July
AFP/Getty Images
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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits the site
REUTERS
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A rescue team stands in the entrance to the cave
AP
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British cave-divers (from left to right) Richard William Stanton, Robert Charles Harper and John Volanthen join the rescue effort
AFP/Getty Images
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Divers prepare for the rescue mission
EPA
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A rescuer enters the cave
AP
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The father of one of the missing boys thanks soldiers after the boys are found
AFP/Getty Images
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Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
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Relatives pray after they hear that the boys have been found
Getty Images
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Relatives celebrate after they hear that the boys have been found
AFP/Getty Images
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General Bancha Duriyaphan announces the news to the press
Getty Images
68/70
With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
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With the rescue mission still ongoing, Thai soldiers carry equipment into the cave
EPA
70/70
Water is being pumped out of the flooded cave complex in an effort to make the rescue easier
Getty Images
Jedsada Chokdumrongsuk, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry, said the first four boys rescued, aged 12 to 16, are now able to eat normal food.
Two of them possibly have a lung infection but all eight are generally “healthy and smiling,” he said.
“The kids are footballers so they have high immune systems,” Mr Jedsada said. “Everyone is in high spirits and are happy to get out. But we will have a psychiatrist to evaluate them.”
It could be at least seven days before they can be released from hospital, Mr Jesada told a news conference.
Family members have seen at least some of the boys from behind a glass isolation barrier, and Mr Jedsada said doctors may let the boys walk around their beds on Tuesday.
Mr Jedsada said they were uncertain what type of infections the boys could face “because we have never experienced this kind of issue from a deep cave.”
The second group of four rescued on Monday are aged 12 to 14.