Second group of 4 boys is rescued from Thai cave, after long ordeal

Emergency crews in Thailand brought a second group of four boys to safety on Monday, weeks after 12 boys and their soccer team’s coach were trapped in a flooded cave network. Pairs of divers shepherded the boys on the long and painstaking journey out of the cave, navigating muddy and silty water through tight passages.

A total of eight boys have now been taken out of the cave, according to the Thai navy SEAL group, which has a leading role in the rescue operation. The Associated Press reports that four ambulances were seen leaving the area near the network’s entrance on Monday, with patients taken to waiting helicopters.

The rescue of the first four team members — whose team is known as the Wild Boars — brought cheers and optimism on Sunday, bolstering hopes that more of the boys can survive a complicated and hours-long process that includes the use of multiple divers and a system of air tanks stashed along the escape route.

The boys, ranging in age from 11-16, have been trapped in the cave system since June 23, after heavy rains flooded the network. They entered the complex with their coach, after a practice — and before a sudden heavy rainstorm hit. Authorities say they want to get them out now, with the threat of more rain and floods looming.

“All conditions are still as good as they were yesterday,” Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said, as relayed by the AP. “The boys’ strength, the plan — today we are ready like before. And we will do it faster because we are afraid of the rain.”

A deluge could overwhelm efforts to lower water levels in the caves – more than 32 million gallons of water were pumped out after the boys were found last Monday.

Giving an update on the four boys who were pulled from the cave on Sunday, Narongsak said, “This morning they said they were hungry and wanted to eat khao pad grapao” — a popular Thai rice dish of meat stir-fried with basil and chili peppers.

Hundreds of spectators and journalists have gathered in the area around the cave, hoping for news that the boys and their coach would emerge safely. More than two weeks after they became trapped, the team’s plight has been followed by people around the world.

The effort to save the boys and their coach has involved both foreign divers and members of an elite Thai navy unit. Days after the stranded team was found, a former diver in the Thai SEAL unit died after volunteering to enter the caves and place air tanks along the path.

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.