Adisak Wongsukchan, speaking exclusively to CNN from the cave complex, said he was “so happy and appreciative†of the international rescue effort that helped to free his son and the Wild Boars soccer team.
For nearly three weeks, Wonsukchan said he tried to “chip in†in any way he could, focusing his attention on supporting the teams.
Now, Wonsukchan’s main focus is to hug his 14-year-old son, Akarat Wongsuchan, who, along with the rest of his team and coach, is recovering at the hospital in Chiang Rai.
Health officials say the boys will likely to remain in a quarantine for seven days because of their weakened immune systems.
Authorities will likely look for signs of Histoplasmosis, also known as “cave disease.†It’s an infection caused by breathing in spores of a fungus often found in bird and bat droppings, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The first eight boys who were rescued on Sunday and Monday seem to be healthy, officials said.
They’re “free of fever, fit mentally, they can feed themselves and talk normally,†according to Dr. Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health.
The rescue mission was complicated to begin with due to fast-moving shallow water passing through very narrow passages. Then the rain started, and forecasts of more rain threatened to raise water levels and reduce the amount of available air in the cave.
It became clear the boys were likely going to have to dive out. Here’s how it went down:
Three remaining divers and a doctor are now out of the cave, mission commander Narongsak Osotthanakorn said at a press conference moments ago.
Osotthanakorn also said the members of the Thai soccer team are in the hospital will see their family “soon.â€
Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, the 25-year-old coach of the Wild Board soccer team, has arrived at the hospital in Chiang Rai, a hospital official tells CNN.
All 12 players and their coach are now in the hospital following a rescue that took more than two weeks.
Former Sgt. Saman Kunan, an ex-SEAL, died on July 6 while working on the mission to free the trapped boys.
The 38-year-old, who was a triathlete, ran out of air while underwater as he returned from delivering oxygen tanks to the cavern where the boys were located.
Kunan’s death hammered home the difficulty of bringing out the group — and may have changed the way rescue teams approached the operation.
Finnish volunteer diver Mikko Paasi, a long-term resident of Thailand, talked to CNN while the rescue mission was still in motion. He said Kunan’s death had changed the mood on the ground and made real for rescuers just how dangerous the mission had become.
One of Kunan’s longtime friends, Sgt. Anuram Kaewchano, told CNN he was shocked to learn the news.
“I can’t believe this happened,†he told CNN by phone. “He was very fit, he exercised every day, and he was a triathlete. Our last trip together was to Malaysia.â€
He added that the last time the two spoke, “We talked about the kids — whether they were out yet.â€
Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, 25, likely led the 12 boys into the cave nearly three weeks ago.
Today, he was the last one out.
He has been criticized by some for what is perceived to be act of supreme recklessness. However, the town has rallied behind Coach Ake, a former monk and community worker.
Both of his parents died when he was young, essentially orphaning Ake. Like many orphaned children in Thailand, he moved away from his childhood home of Mae Sai to become a Buddhist monk at a monastery in the nearby province of Lum Phun.
He remained in the care of the monastery for much of the next decade.
This selflessness, one of his relatives said, is what helped to keep the children alive during those first nine agonizing days before divers discovered the missing group.
All 12 boys and their soccer coach are free from the cave. Here’s what we know about their identities.
The ninth, tenth and eleventh boys who were rescued from the flooded cave made it to the hospital in Chiang Rai, a hospital official tells CNN.
President Trump, who is en route to Brussels right now, just tweeted about the Thai cave rescue:
The Thai Navy SEALs are asking for support for four more rescue workers who have yet to come out of the cave following the evacuation of 13 members of a soccer team from a cave in northern Thailand.
The post from the Thai Navy SEALs’ Facebook page reads: “Waiting for four more Thai Navy Seals [to come out of the cave] who have been accompanying the kids. Please send your support to them.â€
Thai Navy SEALs were still waiting for four divers to come out of the cave complex following the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach.
“All 12 wild boars and the coach have left the cave. all safe. Now waiting to receive 4 divers to come out. Hooyah,†the SEALs said in a post on Facebook Tuesday.
After more than two weeks trapped inside a cave complex in northern Thailand, all 12 boys and their soccer coach have finally been rescued.
The last four members of the youth soccer team and their coach were pulled out of the cave on Tuesday afternoon, the third day of a huge international operation to save them.
Nineteen divers assisted in the operation on Tuesday.
The boys were exploring the caves on June 23 with their coach when they were trapped inside by heavy seasonal rains. After they were found on July 2, officials cautioned it could take some time to get them out, but with heavy rain forecast to hit the region authorities decided to act.
While waiting for the last member of the Wild Boar soccer team, and the team’s coach, to be rescued from the cave complex, the Thai Navy SEALs shared a message of support on their Facebook page.
In the post, the SEALs said: “Tonight, all the ‘Wild Boars’ will be in group again!â€
All 12 boys have been rescued from the cave complex in northern Thailand, an eyewitness who is part of the rescue operations told CNN. Their coach still remains inside.
The last three members of the youth soccer team were pulled out of the cave on Tuesday afternoon, the third day of a huge international operation to save them.
The Thai rescue is continuing at a fast pace as an eleventh boy was rescued Tuesday afternoon local time, an eyewitness who is part of the rescue operations told CNN. That leaves rescuers with the task of bringing out only one more boy, and the Wild Boars’ soccer coach, from the cave complex in northern Thailand.
A total of three boys have been pulled out of the cave so far on Tuesday, the third day of rescue operations.
A video shared on Facebook by the wife of Nopparat Kanthawong, the Wild Boars’ head coach (not the one trapped inside the cave in northern Thailand), features a number of previously unseen photos of the team.
The photos are accompanied by a song about forgiveness, winning and losing.
At the Prasitsart School in Mae Sai, friends of Nuttawut Takumsong, one of the Wild Boar soccer team members trapped in the cave complex, told CNN they were looking forward to sharing a big plate of fried chicken, the boy’s favorite, as soon as they were reunited.
The youngest member of the team, 11-year-old Titun, also said he wanted to eat fried chicken when he got out of the cave, in a letter written to his parents.
Chicken being fried and sold on the road side is a common sight in Mae Sai, and is especially popular among the town’s school children.
Photos taken by CNN’s Steve George
A tenth boy has emerged from deep within a cave complex in northern Thailand, a member of the rescue operations stationed at the entrance of the cave told CNN.
His was the second successful rescue Tuesday, the third day of a huge international operation to save the boys and their coach. Two boys and their coach remain trapped in the cave.
One more boy was brought out of the cave complex in northern Thailand on Tuesday, the third day of rescue operations.
The boy is being treated at the medical facility on site, according to a Thai navy official with direct knowledge of the operational details.
Nine of the 12 boys have now been rescued. Three boys and their coach remain in the cave.
