In an amazing turn of events, the 12 boys and their football coach have all been rescued safely, 17 days after they were trapped in an underground cave. The last boy and the coach were led out around 6 pm local time and taken to the hospital.
The world has been glued to updates on the plight of the boys and their coach. It has also highlighted the efforts of more than 90 divers, 50 or so from the global cave diving community, including two British veteran cave rescue experts, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen.
All the children and coach seem to be in good health, although they are being kept in quarantine to protect against possible infections. Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, said at a news conference this morning:
“All eight are in good health, no fever… everyone is in a good mental state”
The rescue has conjured up images of an“Apollo 13” rescue with everyone fighting against all odds to get a safe return.
To highlight the danger of the mission, a former Thai navy diver died on Friday while delivering air tanks when he ran out of air.
Thirteen Lives
In the true story of Thirteen Lives, twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.
