Rescue efforts to free a group of trapped schoolboys from a cave in Thailand have now been underway for two days, and an eighth boy has now been freed from the dangerous complex. A diving crew is currently making the treacherous journey to save the group of 13 boys aged 11-16 and their football coach who are trapped by flooded tunnels. The operation has been meticulously planned to ensure ‘minimal’ risk from danger in the cave, but it has already claimed the life of a diver. As monsoon rains threaten to fill the cave with more water, diving crews are racing against to clock to deliver the last five boys and their coach from the cave system.

Will the coach be the last person saved? Thai officials have confirmed that they are prioritising the weaker boys first, in order to ensure they get quick treatment. So far those who have been released have been rushed off to hospital, and the most recent boys to make it out have been stretchered off. Ekapol Chantawong, the coach, is 25 years old, and may not have been rescued yet due to age giving him better resilience. However, rumours have rated that he has apparently been giving his food to the boys to keep them healthy, if this turns out to be true he may be rescued sooner rather than later. Danger of ‘cave sickness’ due to bat and rat droppings in the cave have increased the urgency for the children to be saved so swift treatment can be given.

Change Mai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said on Monday that the rescued boys’ identities were being protected out of respect for the families of those still trapped inside the cave. The first four boys rescued from the cave are apparently now recovering well in hospital, demanding bowls of fried rice. Those rescued from the depths of the cave complex have been helicoptered off the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital, about 70 km (40 miles) away. Governor Osottanakorn said: "The four children are fine. The children complained that they were hungry and wanted holy basil stir-fried rice." </s> CHIANG RAI, Thailand July 9 (Reuters) - The first four boys rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand were in good health and demanding fried rice in hospital on Monday, the head of the rescue team said, as divers resumed operations to bring out the remaining members of the group.

The bid to rescue the boys - aged between 11 and 16 - and their 25-year-old soccer coach got going again after a break late on Sunday to replenish the team’s oxygen supplies and make other preparations deep inside the cave.

The four boys, rescued on Sunday, were flown by helicopter from the Tham Luang cave to the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital, located at the heart of Chiang Rai province, about 70 km (40 miles) away.

A fifth boy was rescued on Monday afternoon, a Royal Thai Navy official said. No other details on him were immediately available.

Seven more boys and the coach are still trapped.

“The four children are fine. The children complained that they were hungry and wanted holy basil stir-fried rice,” Narongsak Osottanakorn, the head of the rescue operation, told reporters on Monday, referring to a popular Thai dish.

Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda also said the boys were in good health. He did not give further details.

Officials have yet to confirm the identities of the four boys freed. Narongsak on Monday said their identities were being protected out of respect for the families of those still trapped inside the cave.

Officials last week said they would bring the fittest people in the group out first, but Narongsak later said that whoever was ready first would be escorted out.

A source involved in the rescue mission who saw two of the four boys walk out of the cave told Reuters that they looked tired but healthy, adding that one even looked “vivacious and fresh”. He did not give further details.

“Imagine marathon runners. It’s like when they reach the finish line exhausted,” said the source.

At the hospital in Chiang Rai, green canvas sheets had been put up to block the entrance from view.

Ambulances were on standby to receive the next batch of boys who are expected to be plucked from the cave.

Medical staff involved in the rescue mission told Reuters their first assessments when the boys arrive at the hospital will focus on their breathing, signs of hypothermia and an airborne lung infection known as ‘cave disease’ which is caused by bat and bird droppings and can be fatal if untreated and allowed to spread to other parts of the body.

The first four rescued boys have been placed in a ward set aside specifically for the cave rescue, a source at the hospital said. (Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Raju Gopalakrishnan) </s> The entire boys soccer team and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand have all been safely rescued

 The 12 boys and their coach got trapped by rising waters after they entered the cave on June 23rd.

 Officials initially said the rescue could take months but dropping oxygen levels and more heavy rains in the forecast forced them to act now.

 19 divers went into the cave this morning to try and bring out the remaining four children and their coach.

 Officials initially said the rescue could take months but dropping oxygen levels and more heavy rains in the forecast forced them to act now.

 Meanwhile, the 12 boys rescued from being trapped in a cave in Thailand are doing well and health officials say they’re in good health and each of them is in a good mental state.

The post Thai Cave Rescue Complete, 12 Boys and Coach Safe appeared first on 850 WFTL. </s> Thailand cave rescue: Four boys rescued after two weeks in flooded cave

CHIANG RAI, Thailand: Four of 12 Thai schoolboys were rescued from a flooded cave on Sunday in a daring and dangerous operation to save the children and their soccer coach who have been trapped underground for more than two weeks.

The operation to rescue the remaining eight boys - some as young as 11 and weak swimmers - and the coach was called off at nightfall until Monday to give the divers time to replenish oxygen supplies and ensure all preparations were complete.

Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit guided the boys to safety through narrow, submerged passageways that claimed the life of a former Thai navy diver on Friday.

"Today was the best day, the best situation in terms of the weather, the health of the boys, our water management for our rescue effort," the head of the rescue operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, told a news conference.

"Today we managed to rescue and send back four children to Chiang Rai Prachanukrua Hospital safely.

"The rescuers needed at least 10 hours to prepare for their next operation, involving about 90 divers in total, 50 of them from foreign countries, he said. A helicopter flew the four boys to the nearby city of Chiang Rai, where they were taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Their ordeal has drawn huge media attention in Thailand and abroad, and getting the boys out safely could be a boost for Thailand’s junta ahead of a general election next year.

Bursts of heavy monsoon rain soaked the Tham Luang Cave area in northern Chiang Rai province on Sunday and storms were expected in coming weeks, increasing the risks in what has been called a "war with water and time" to save the team.

The boys, aged between 11 and 16, went missing with their 25-year-old coach after soccer practice on June 23, setting out on an adventure to explore the cave complex near the border with Myanmar and celebrate a boy’s birthday.

The rescue teams had rehearsed the plan for several days, Narongsak said, and had managed to drain the cave water level considerably, but needed to move fast.

"If we wait and the rain comes in the next few days we will be tired again from pumping and our readiness would drop. </s> All 12 boys and their football coach trapped for more than two weeks deep inside a flooded Thai cave have been rescued.

"The 12 Wild Boars and coach have emerged from the cave and they are safe," the Thai navy SEAL unit said on its official Facebook page.

The "Wild Boars" soccer team and their coach got trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai after soccer practice and a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.

British divers found the 13, hungry and huddled in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometres inside the complex, on Monday last week.

After pondering for days how to get the 13 out, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday when four of the boys were brought out, tethered to rescue divers.

Another four were rescued yesterday and the last four boys and the coach were brought out today.

Celebrations will be tinged with sadness over the loss of a former Thai navy diver who died last Friday while on a re-supply mission inside the cave in support of the rescue. </s> Rescuers in Thailand on Monday freed four more members of the boys soccer team stranded in a flooded cave complex, as part of the second phase of a desperate rescue operation that aims to save four more kids and the team's coach before heavy rains imperil the effort.

Four ambulances with flashing lights were spotted leaving the area as Thai navy SEALs said on Facebook that four boys were brought out of the cave on Monday, bringing the total to eight rescued so far before rescue operations were suspended for the day.

One helicopter carried the sixth and seventh boys to be rescued to a hospital, while the eighth boy was being transported on another helicopter for medical treatment.

The newest set of rescues came about six hours after Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the second phase was underway.

"All conditions are still as good as they were yesterday," Narongsak told a news conference. "The boys' strength, the plan — today we are ready like before. And we will do it faster because we are afraid of the rain."

On Sunday, Thai navy SEALs successfully retrieved four members of the youth soccer team from the cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks in the first rescue operation.

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said early Monday the same group of expert divers who took part in Sunday's rescue would return to extricate the others because they know the cave conditions and what to do. He said fresh air tanks needed to be laid along the underwater route.

'DON'T BLAME YOURSELF,' PARENT OF TRAPPED THAI YOUTH WRITES TO BOYS' COACH

Reuters, citing an unnamed source at a nearby hospital, reported the boys’ conditions were “not bad” but will continue to be monitored.

"This morning they said they were hungry and wanted to eat khao pad grapao," Narongsak said, according to the Associated Press, referring to a Thai dish of meat fried with chili and basil and served over rice.

It was not immediately clear Monday how the overnight rains had impacted water levels inside the flooded cave. Officials have said storms forecast for Chiang Rai province in Thailand's far north had factored into their decision to go ahead with a complicated and dangerous plan to have the boys and their coach dive out of the cave. If everything goes to according to plan, the operation should be completed on Tuesday, officials previously told The Wall Street Journal.

DR. MARC SIEGEL: BOYS RESCUED FROM THAI CAVE NOW FACE POSSIBLE MEDICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Narongsak previously said experts told him flooding from new rain could shrink the unflooded space where the boys are sheltering to just 108 square feet.

"I confirm that we are at war with water and time from the first day up to today," he said. "Finding the boys doesn't mean we've finished our mission. It is only a small battle we've won, but the war has not ended. The war ends when we win all three battles — the battles to search, rescue and send them home."

The death Friday of a former Thai navy SEAL underscored the risks. The diver, the first fatality of the rescue effort, was working in a volunteer capacity and died on a mission to place air canisters along the passage to where the boys are, a necessary task in order for divers to safely travel the five- to six-hour route.

Authorities spent hours replenishing air tanks along the cave's treacherous exit route. The rescue of the remaining boys and their soccer coach could take up to four days.

Trips from the entrance to where the team is trapped and back to the entrance take about 11 hours and include walking, wading, climbing and diving, the BBC reported. There is reportedly a guide rope in place. Two divers will accompany each boy as they are gradually extracted.

An international team of expert divers—90 in all, 40 from Thailand and 50 from overseas—have been working in the area.

About 40 U.S. Air Force special operations personnel -- including an 18-person personnel recovery team -- were on the ground in Thailand at two locations, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

The stranded boys, members of the Wild Boars soccer team, have been invited to the World Cup Final in Moscow if they make it out in time and can physically handle the trip.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson, Fox News' Jeff Paul and Melissa Chrise in Chiang Rai, Thailand, and The Associated Press contributed to this report </s> THAI authorities say they have resumed operations to rescue the remaining eight boys and their soccer coach trapped in the flooded cave after successfully getting four of the boys out.

They said the four boys already rescued are hungry but in good health in a hospital and had even been asking for pad kra pao, a popular Thai dish.

The second operation started at 11am local time (2pm AEST). It takes several hours.

“At 11am sent (in) the second operation,” Narongsak Osottanakorn, the former governor of Chiang Rai province who has stayed on to oversee the rescue mission, said.

He said he hoped the second phase would be “quicker” than the first operation to extract four boys.

Gov. Osotthanakorn told reporters the rescue mission is five hours ahead of schedule due to the low water levels.

“We will receive good news in a few hours,” he said.

The four rescued boys will not be allowed physical contact with their parents until the risk of infection has gone, Gov. Osotthanakorn said.

“They (the four) will be kept away from their parents for a while because we are concerned about infections,” he told reporters, adding doctors will decide on family visits “at a distance or through glass.”

The second rescue mission is being carried out by the same team of divers that extracted the first four boys.

Earlier in the day, a rescuer at the site tweeted: “Started to transport air bottles, the medic team is in place, ready to take 4-6 boar out soon. Cloudy skies but not yet rain. But if it rains we don’t care – it will have no impact.”

The rescuer was referring to the Moo Pa Academy soccer squad, which translates as “wild boar”.

Other vision showed defibrillators were being sent into the cave network, should the worst happen.

The Tham Luang cave network has, until now, been little understood by speleogists, who are fast getting a lesson on the 10km system’s twists and turns.

The main issue facing rescuers — apart from extreme low visibility and the dual issue of oxygen depletion and carbon monoxide overload in the cave’s chambers — is a dangerous a choke point about 1km from where the remaining boys are trapped on a muddy ledge.

It requires divers to lead the boys down a narrow tunnel, at points only .7m wide, then up to above the water level, then down another tunnel once again into a deep pool.

The professional divers are leading the boys out in pairs, with two divers escorting each boy and holding his tank to make his journey easier.

Local television showed footage of air tanks being winched through the cave on rope pulleys as they begin to attack the next phase of the mission.

There are reports that British divers Rick Stanton and Joahn Volanthen, who found the boys trapped on a ledge last Monday, are closely involved in the rescue, while an Australian anaesthetist and diver, Richard Harris, gave the four boys a final check before releasing them for the journey on Sunday.

LISTEN TO OUR REPORTER PAUL TOOHEY IN CHIANG RAI

“It’s wonderful news and we are very relieved that the four boys have been evacuated,” said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. “But the fact that it took so many hours underscores how precarious this whole mission is.”

MORE: What can still go wrong with Thai cave rescue

The four boys who have been freed so far from the Tham Luang cave where they were trapped for two weeks have been named, as more details emerged of the next stage of the rescue mission.

In comments released by the government, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said for the second stage, divers needed to place more air canisters along the underwater route to where the boys and their coach have been trapped since June 23. He said that process can take several hours.

He said the boys rescued are strong and safe but need to undergo detailed medical checks.

Nattawut ‘Tle’ Takamsai, 11, Monhkhol Boonpiam, 13, Prajak Sutham, 14, and Pipat Bodhi, 15, were taken to safety today, surviving the treacherous journey through flooded underground rivers and arriving safely into the hands of medics, in what has been dubbed a “masterpiece” mission.

But eight of their teammates, and the 25-year-old coach of the Wild Boars football team, remain trapped.

The rescued boys have been taken to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital via ambulance and helicopter.

They are being put in isolation for 1-2 days, inside a sterilised isolation unit, meaning there will still be no physical contact with their parents as they are medically assessed.

It’s expected there will be two more rescue operations to bring the boys out in groups of four.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop this morning welcomed the “wonderful news” four boys had already been evacuated.

“But the fact that it took so many hours underscores how precarious this whole mission is,” she told the Nine Network.

Ms Bishop revealed a team of six Australian Federal Police divers were an “integral” part of the rescue and were involved in a “daisy chain” of divers helping the boys out of the cave.

“They will obviously learn lessons from this first evacuation and apply those to the next couple of evacuations,” she said.

“I think they will bring the boys out in groups of four so there will be two more groups plus the soccer coach of course.

“It’s highly dangerous, it’s very precarious and our thoughts are not only with the boys but also with the diving and rescue teams that are assisting.”

She said Australian doctor Richard ‘Harry’ Harris was an “essential” part of the rescue.

“We sent the doctor from South Australia who is an anaesthetist and an expert cave diver and his qualifications and experience were certainly in demand,” Ms Bishop said.

“He has a diving support partner with him as well.

“The Australian doctor was in the cave, he was part of the medical assessment to determine that the boys were fit enough to dive and swim to freedom.”

Ms Bishop confirmed Australia would send more assistance to Thailand if asked.

The survival of the others who are still trapped in the cave is far from guaranteed with extraction efforts put on hold, to allow the rescue divers time to resupply.

Photos of the isolation unit have emerged, as parents sleep at the rescue site and continue their nervous wait to be reunited with their boys.

EIGHT TO GO

The remaining eight remain underground. Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said the four who escaped were “safe” but released few details about their condition or identities.

Footage released by authorities showed groups of soldiers carrying what appeared to be two of the boys on stretchers into the back of waiting ambulances which then sped off for a nearby hospital.

The massive and so-far miraculous operation, involving 50 foreign and 40 Thai divers, saw the four children walk unassisted from the sprawling cave complex.

“Today we rescued four children and sent them to hospital,” Osotthanakorn said, tasked with overseeing the mission.

“We saw the children’s faces today — it is the perfect day, the best situation. The operation went much better than expected.”

He said the healthiest have been taken out first, and the next phase of the operation would start in 10-20 hours while equipment was rechecked and oxygen tanks refilled.

“After 16 days of waiting today we finally see the faces of the Wild Boars,” he said.

“Today is the best situation that allow us to carry out the evacuation operation. All of the four boys have been sent to the hospital and all of them are safe.”

HOW THE RESCUE HAS UNFOLDED SO FAR

The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said army Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam.

Just after 9pm last night (12am AEST), Thai navy SEALs posted on their Facebook page again, saying: “Have sweet dreams everyone. Good night. Hooyah.”

Gov. Osotthanakorn had earlier asked the world for its prayers so the 12 boys and their coach could be delivered safely.

“We expected the first child to come out at 9pm (12am AEST) but everything went well, with the first child coming out at 5.40pm (8.40 AEST) and the second child 10 to 20 minutes later,” he said. The second pair of boys followed two hours later.

The remaining eight boys and the soccer coach are either at “chamber 9”, where they have been stranded for much of the past 16 days, or moving forward to new positions in the cave.

Gov. Osotthanakorn said the families of the 12 boys and their soccer coach had given their consent for the operation to begin at 10am (1pm AEST) on Sunday morning.

Local media are reporting that the children and the coach — presuming all emerge safely — will be quarantined for seven days at the main Chiang Rai hospital but family will be permitted to visit.

Ten Thai and international divers were initially dispatched to head directly to “chamber 9”, where the team is waiting, while numerous other Australian, American, Chinese and European divers were sent to cave’s base camp or stationed along the route.

Though many ideas were proposed to get the boys out — from drilling through the mountaintop to devising nylon pods with air tanks — the rescuers went back to Plan A: diving and swimming them on a five-hour journey through tunnels and strong currents.

Australia has sent a team of 19 to support the dangerous rescue mission being lead by Thai authorities.

The group includes six Australian Federal Police divers and more divers from the Australia Defence Force, including Navy.

The divers formed part of the ‘daisy chain’ of rescuers who led four-of-the-12 boys out the cave system to the surface on Sunday.

Richard Harris, a doctor from South Australia and an anaesthetist with diving experience, was part of the medical team that determined the boys’ fitness to undertake the arduous 4km journey.

A Department of Foreign Affairs crisis response team is providing support to the Australians.

Australia stands ready to send more experts to help with the rescue, the federal government says.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has welcomed the rescue of four of the boys.

“It’s highly dangerous, it’s very precarious and our thoughts are not only with the boys but also with the diving and rescue teams that are assisting,” Ms Bishop told Nine today.

The mission’s initial success has raised hopes for those still trapped, but officials say it could take four days to complete the entire rescue.

“Today is D-Day,” Gov. Osotthanakorn said earlier. “Though we have been looking for shafts to go to the place where the children are located, we have not found one. The new monsoon is coming.”

The mission was to pull the boys out in pairs, each accompanied by two divers who will stay at their sides on their treacherous journey.

The expected arrival of torrential rains forced the hand of rescuers, who feared that the water level in the cave — currently at its lowest level since the boys were found last Monday, after intensive pumping — will start rising fast.

Gov. Osotthanakorn said medics — including an Australian doctor who made a final check of the boys — declared them 100 per cent fit for the journey and they were as ready as they ever would be.

“Thirteen specialist foreign divers and five Thai SEAL divers are now going inside the cave to help the boys out,” he said.

“The children said they are ready to come out. They’re ready to join our mission. Family members know the mission, so we are already, physically and mentally.”

Gov. Osotthanakorn said rescuers had rehearsed the extraction with simulated dives. “We have planned the mission, with the duty of each person clear so there is no confusion. We have trained from dawn till dusk. We want you all to wait for the outcome, and please pray and send your encouragement for the mission.”

Each of the boys is being swum by two divers — one at the lead and one at the rear, assisted by oxygen masks and a safety line. Once they get beyond the flooded Sam Yak T-junction, they will be able to walk the remaining three kilometres back to where they first entered the cave.

A stream of ambulances and helicopters are in place to handle any problems, with all but essential staff ordered to depart the staging area as authorities seek to clear the paths in case a fast exit is needed.

At current water levels, it would appear that the soccer team, who are all poor swimmers, would only need to be fully submerged for short distances — after which their diver escorts could swim them with their heads above water most of the way.

All of the boys have been given basic instructions on how to use scuba equipment for the journey, which will be arduous.

The boys and their coach entered the cave system on June 23. They were discovered sitting on a ledge last Monday, all alive and well, though starving and anxious.

The world has been on tenterhooks since, but now the mission appears to running better than anyone had hoped.

It had been planned that four boys would make up the first group, with subsequent groups of three over the next few days. The coach was to be in the last group out.

A possible reason for the decreased rescue time is that water has receded, making some of the cave’s chambers walkable.

The risks of the journey became clear when a retired Thai Navy SEAL diver lost consciousness and died while returning to base camp in the early hours of Friday.

The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach have been trapped for two weeks — since June 23, when they went exploring in northern Thailand’s Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a practice game.

Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days. The only way to reach them was by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air. Getting out via the same route looks like the only feasible option, but a high- risk one, Thai officials say. Experienced cave rescue experts consider an underwater escape a last resort, especially with people untrained in diving, as the boys are.

The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages. </s> MAE SAI, Thailand - Rescuers in northern Thailand on Sunday extracted at least four members of a youth soccer team from the cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks, part of an ongoing operation to rescue the 12 boys and their coach, officials said.

The operation to rescue the boys, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach by having them dive out of the flooded cave began Sunday morning, with expert divers entering the sprawling complex for the complicated and dangerous mission.

Shortly before 8 p.m., the Thai navy SEALs reported on their official Facebook page that four had been rescued.

Helicopters and several ambulances were seen departing from the cave area, though there was no official announcement of whom they were carrying. Officials had said earlier that helicopters were on standby to take anyone rescued from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province to a hospital.

Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn, who is heading the operation, said that 13 foreign and five Thai divers were taking part in the rescue and that two divers would accompany each boy as they're gradually extracted.

"Divers will work with doctors in the cave to examine each the kids' health to determine who should get to come out first," Narongsak said Sunday morning.

The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said army Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam.

The only way to bring the boys and their coach out of the cave is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air. A former Thai navy SEAL passed out and died making the dive Friday.

Experienced cave rescue experts consider an underwater escape a last resort, especially with people untrained in diving, as the boys are. The path out is considered especially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages.

But Narongsak said earlier that mild weather and falling water levels over the last few days had created optimal conditions for an underwater evacuation that won't last if it rains again.

Before announcing that the rescue was underway, authorities ordered the throngs of media that have gathered at the cave from around the world to leave.

The boys and their coach became stranded when they went exploring in the cave after a practice game June 23. Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days.

The ordeal has riveted Thailand and made global headlines, and the search and rescue operation has involved international experts and rescuers.

President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Sunday: "The U.S. is working very closely with the Government of Thailand to help get all of the children out of the cave and to safety. Very brave and talented people!"

Authorities had said that incoming monsoon rains that could send water levels in the cave rising, coupled with falling oxygen levels in the enclosed space, added to the urgency of getting those trapped out. Earlier efforts to pump out water from the cave have been set back every time there has been a heavy downpour.

Narongsak said Saturday that experts told him water from new rain could shrink the unflooded space where the boys are sheltering to just 10 square meters (108 square feet).

"I confirm that we are at war with water and time from the first day up to today," he said Saturday. "Finding the boys doesn't mean we've finished our mission. It is only a small battle we've won, but the war has not ended. The war ends when we win all three battles — the battles to search, rescue and send them home."

The boys sounded calm and reassuring in handwritten notes to their families that were made public Saturday. The notes were sent out with divers who made an 11-hour, back-and-forth journey to act as postmen.

One of the boys, identified as Tun, wrote: "Mom and Dad, please don't worry, I am fine. I've told Yod to get ready to take me out for fried chicken. With love."

"Don't be worried, I miss everyone. Grandpa, Uncle, Mom, Dad and siblings, I love you all. I'm happy being here inside, the navy SEALS have taken good care. Love you all," wrote Mick.

"Night loves Dad and Mom and brother, don't worry about me. Night loves you all," wrote Night, in the Thai manner of referring to one's self in the third person.

The most touching note came from one whose name was not clear: "I'm doing fine, but the air is a little cold, but don't worry. Although, don't forget to set up my birthday party."

Another, of indistinct origin, asked their teacher not to give them a lot of homework.

In a letter of his own, the coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, apologized to the boys' parents for the ordeal.

"To the parents of all the kids, right now the kids are all fine, the crew are taking good care. I promise I will care for the kids as best as possible. I want to say thanks for all the support and I want to apologize to the parents," he wrote.

An update Saturday from the Thai navy said three navy SEALs were with the boys and their coach, one a doctor. The 13 were having health evaluations and rehabilitation, and were being taught diving skills. Food, electrolyte drinks, drinking water, medicine and oxygen canisters have been delivered to them. A major concern of the rescuers is that oxygen levels in their safe space could fall dangerously low.

Rescuers have been unable to extend a hose pumping oxygen all the way to where the boys are, but have brought them some oxygen tanks.

Stick with us right here for the latest on the rescue mission. We will post updates as soon as they become available.

More on this story, here. </s> AN AUSTRALIAN doctor's triaging of 12 boys trapped in a cave in northern Thailand may have led to the rescue of four of the weakest children first.

Chiang Rai former governor Narongsak Osottanakorn, who is heading the rescue operation, had said Sunday was the "perfect day" to launch the daring rescue before heavy rain was again expected inundate the Tham Luang caves, 60km from Chiang Rai.

The initial plan was to bring the strongest out first.

But after Adelaide cave diver and anaesthetist Richard Harris, 53, assessed the youngsters and their coach that strategy appears to have been reversed, Thai media has reported.

Adding to the theory is the relatively short time it took to retrieve the four boys from the cave because of the lower water levels, which meant they could wade through some sections of the underground labyrinth instead of diving. Narongsak told a press conference late Sunday the rescue operation, launched at 10am, had taken "hours faster than expected".

Further adding to speculation that the weakest were rescued first was the condition of the first boy taken from the cave.

Mongkol Boonpiem, 13, emerged from the cave at 5.37pm and was taken to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital.

Thai media reported one of the four boys was in a critical condition and a family friend told a reporter it was Mongkol, the weakest of the group, whose condition has since stabilised.

"I think Narongsak and the commanders changed their minds after the Australian doctor inspected the boys' health and mental state," one senior Thai journalist said.

"They decided to take the weakest out first." The boys aged 11 to 16 are members of the Mu Pa Academy Mae Sai football club and have been trapped inside the Tham Luang cave with their coach, Ekapol Chantawong, 25, since June 23.

Dr Harris was requested by other international divers at the cave site to join the rescue operation.

He has 30 years' diving experience and was involved in the retrieval of the body of stunt diver Agnes Milowka who died at Millicent, South Australia, in 2011.

Eight Australian divers, six from the Australian Federal Police, are part of the 90-strong Thai and international diving team taking part in the operation.

It's also understood the decision to ban the media, totalling about 1000, from the area around the cave entrance on Sunday was to facilitate faster ambulance access to the freeway to get the rescued boys to a football field where they could be taken by helicopter to the Chiang Rai hospital.

The rescue operation is due to resume at 8am on Monday.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is scheduled to visit Chiang Rai in the afternoon.
Four boys are rescued from the cave.