Rescuers to extract final five from Thai cave Tuesday: official
Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover around a stretcher near a helicopter and an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai on July 9, 2018, 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.
LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
What you need to know:
- Four boys and their 25-year-old football coach "will be extracted today (Tuesday)", rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
Mae Sai, Thailand. Rescuers will guide the remaining five members of a youth football squad out from inside a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday, the chief of the painstaking operation to free them told reporters.
Four boys and their 25-year-old football coach "will be extracted today (Tuesday)", rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said.
A doctor and three Thai Navy SEALs, who have stayed with the group since shortly after they were discovered huddled on a muddy ledge deep inside the Tham Luang cave complex, will also come out, Narongsak added.
So far eight boys aged between 12 and 16 have been led out of the cave system by a team of expert divers over two days.
Monday's rescue mission, which saw four boys extracted before dusk and whisked to Chiang Rai hospital, took around nine hours.
"Today (Tuesday) we hope to be faster," Narongsak added, of the complex and dangerous operation that involves diving through narrow, flooded chambers.
A health official earlier described the mental and physical condition of the eight rescued so far as "good", adding they will be kept in hospital for around a week.
