Under The Angsana Tree: Thailand Cave Rescue

Thailand celebrates rescue of 12 boys, coach from flooded cave

Bottomline is Thai Boys Out Free

Timeline of Thai cave rescue (June 23-July 9)

Race Against Time

Jubilation at Thai cave rescue is tinged with sadness for diver who died

The first reports came in, just as the sun began to set on the Tham Luang caves in northern Thailand: All 12 boys and their assistant soccer coach had been successfully rescued, after two weeks trapped in a flooded cave

As news spread by word of mouth at the scene, dozens of volunteers and journalists camped out nearby threw their hands up and cheered.

When the team of rescue divers emerged from the entrance of the cave in their wet suits, people yelled "Thank you!" in English and Thai, reaching out their hands to high-five them.

In footage captured by the BBC, families of the boys were seen hugging in front of television screens in their homes, as residents in the nearby city of Chiang Rai lined the streets, clapping and taking videos of the ambulances carrying the last few boys to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital.

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Hooyah! Mission accomplished

A helicopter is preparing to airlift another survivor of Tham Luang stranding, who had been stranded inside the flooded cave since June 23, to a hospital yesterday

“MISSION IMPOSSIBLE” was the term used to describe the complicated rescue operation at the flooded Tham Luang Cave. It culminated last night with the successful rescue of the last four of the 12 trapped boys and their football coach. The success was announced after the final batch of stranded footballers was evacuated safely to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital.

The unprecedented mission was completed on the 18th day of an all-out rescue effort involving several countries from around the globe.

The whole world has been fixated on the unfolding drama at the cave complex in Chiang Rai province ever since news broke that flash floods had trapped 12 boys from a local football team and their coach on June 23. The intensive and highly dangerous operation to rescue the trapped group faced several formidable obstacles, including downpours, muddy floodwater, thin air, darkness, narrow choke-points and jagged and submerged sections in the cave complex.

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Thai cave rescue: How the cave nightmare began

Ekapol Chanthawong with students at Mae Sai Prasitsart school by the mountain range housing the cave where they are now trapped. Source: Facebook

IT was a birthday celebration after Saturday morning football practice. The 12 boys — members of Moo Pa, the Wild Boars football team — were drawn to a vast and seemingly magical cave, Tham Luang. It’s two weeks ago now since it all began. The boys, aged 11 to 16, rode their bikes down to the cave and spent 700 baht ($28) at the local shop, buying food, soft drink and sweets.

They left their bikes at the entrance and descended deep into the cave. The sign nearby warning that venturing inside during the wet season was dangerous because of the risk of sudden flooding meant little — this was a place they knew and loved.

They were a motley mob — hill tribe lads, Shan, Lahu and Lua, plus a couple of Lanna Thai (boys from the north) — on a boys’ own adventure. But their little journey of exploration was badly timed. A torrential downpour, hardly surprising at this time of year — rudu fon (rainy season) — has left them in a dire predicament. Family members raised the alarm later that day. Where were they?

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Thai soccer team set out on team-building exercise that turned into nightmare

THE hike was never supposed to be considered that dangerous

Initially a way for the assistant coach to learn to manage the young soccer players on his own, and a kind of team-building exercise for the Wild Boars, the seemingly innocent excursion quickly took a turn that’s since captivated the world for two weeks.

What started as a “rite of passage” for the 12 Thai schoolboys, aged between 11 and 16, was then described as a situation “worse than any horror movie you could imagine”.

The adventure — one taken by several boys many times before — was said to be crucial to the team’s training because they spend as many as 20 hours a week together.

The difference this time was the time of year — and the coming weather.

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The super cute cartoon paying tribute to Thai cave rescuers

มีผู้วาดการ์ตูนน่ารัก มีความหมายสะท้อนปฏิบัติการ “พาหมูป่ากลับบ้าน” ในครั้งนี้ ที่เป็นปฏิบัติการระดับโลกที่น่าสนใจมาก แอดมินจึงขอนำมาขยายให้แฟนเพจได้ชมนะครับ ขอบคุณเจ้าของไอเดียนะครับ

A TOUCHING cartoon tribute recognising the supreme international rescue effort taking place to rescue 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from a waterlogged cave has gone viral. The tribute, posted on the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page, amid news eight of the boys had now been freed, depicts a series of animals in the flooded cave, each symbolising the nationalities of those involved in the rescue effort.

Among the images is a kangaroo, representing the 19 Australians involved in the rescue. At the heart of the cartoon are 13 boars, which symbolise the members of the football team — whose team name is Wild Boars — and their coach (a slightly larger boar) who are the focus of the mammoth rescue effort.

The cartoon created by two Thai artists symbolises “taking the boar home”, according to an English translation of the post. The other animals featured in the cartoon all represent those with a role in the rescue.

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'Hooyah!' Tears flow, horns honk after Thai cave boys rescued

Volunteers celebrate at a press center near Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

Honking car horns and live “selfie” videos - this is how some Thais in the northern city of Chiang Rai and beyond celebrated on Tuesday after all 12 boys and their soccer coach had been safely rescued from a labyrinthine cave complex.

The dramatic rescue marks the end of a more than two-week ordeal which began when the “Wild Boars” team and their coach became trapped inside the flooded Tham Luang cave on the border with Myanmar on June 23.

Two British divers found the 13 last Monday but the search and rescue operation has largely been driven by Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit.

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Thailand cave rescue: Astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission captivated the world – How it happened?

The final five members of a young football team were rescued from a flooded Thai cave today after spending 18 harrowing days trapped deep inside, completing an astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission that captivated the world. Elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs extracted the final batch of four boys, plus the 25-year-old coach, this afternoon via a treacherous escape route that required them to squeeze through narrow, water-filled tunnels in darkness.

“All 12 ‘Wild Boars’ and coach have been extracted from the cave,” the SEALs said in a Facebook post, referring to the boys by the name of their football team. “All are safe,” they added, then signed off with what has become their trademark “Hooyah” that they used to celebrate the successful extractions of the other eight boys over the previous two days.

The last four Thai navy divers, including a doctor, who had been with the boys emerged safe from the cave late today, rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said. The children, aged from 11 to 16, and their coach, ventured into the Tham Luang cave in mountainous northern Thailand on June 23 after football practice and got trapped when heavy rains caused flooding that forced them to take shelter on a muddy ledge. They spent nine days in darkness until two British divers found them, looking gaunt but offering smiles to the divers and appearing to be in remarkably good spirits.

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Medic, all navy divers out of Thai cave after successful rescue

Four Thai Navy Seals are seen after leaving the cave safe during the rescue mission, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand July 10, 2018 in this photo obtained from social media. Thai Navy Seal/via REUTERS

The Thai army sent more than 1,000 personnel to help in the rescue of a soccer team and its coach trapped in a flooded cave, the head of the operation said on Tuesday.

Rescuers freed the last four of 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from the cave on Tuesday, a successful end to a mission that gripped the world for more than two weeks.

A medic and all navy SEAL divers had also left the cave safely, said chief of the rescue mission Narongsak Osottanakorn.

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After 18 days, entire Thai soccer team rescued from cave

International efforts to rescue the 12 young Thai boys and their coach ended in success on Tuesday after a treacherous multi-day rescue mission. Their community, Thailand, and the world expressed relief and happiness at the successful rescue

A daring rescue mission in the treacherous confines of a flooded cave in Thailand has saved the 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped deep within the labyrinth, ending an 18-day ordeal that claimed the life of an experienced volunteer diver and riveted people around the world.

Thailand's Navy SEALs, who were central to the rescue effort, said on their Facebook page that the remaining four boys and their 25-year-old coach were all brought out safely Tuesday. Eight of the boys were rescued by a team of 18 Thai and international divers on Sunday and Monday.

"We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave," the SEALs said, referring to the name of the boys' soccer team. "Everyone is safe."

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This diagram shows exactly how the Thai soccer team were rescued from the caves

All twelve boys and their soccer coach have been successfully rescued from a Thai cave complex after an 18-day ordeal that gripped the world

Because the team was trapped in an underground tunnel, 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave, getting them out was an ordeal: The boys had to travel that entire distance, tethered to two cave divers with oxygen tanks.

About 0.6 miles of the journey was completely underwater, where everyone had to wear full face masks.

And because the cave's tunnels are dark, the divers also had to hold onto a 3-mile-long rope and be guided by lights back to the main entrance.

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'Miracle or Science?': Thai Navy SEALs rescue 12 boys, soccer coach from flooded cave

Rescue personnel walk in a cave at the Tham Luang cave complex during a mission
Rescuers freed the last four of 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from deep inside a flooded cave on Tuesday, a successful end to an extraordinarily perilous mission that gripped the world for more than two weeks.

The "Wild Boars" soccer team, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach became trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.

"We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave," the Navy SEAL unit, which led the rescue, said on its Facebook page, adding all were safe.

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Thai cave where dramatic rescue of 12 boys and coach unfolded may become tourist attraction: Official

Rescuers work on a plan to extract 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Chiang Rai province, Thailand

It may be the most famous cave in the world and could soon become Thailand's biggest tourist attraction.

The underground maze where the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach unfolded might be made into a sightseeing destination, Thai officials said Tuesday.

"In this crisis situation, today, I don't want to talk about work, but I think the Thai people, we are lucky that we are going to have a world-class tourist attraction," Chongklai Woraponsathron, Thailand's deputy head of national parks, said during a news conference Tuesday. He said the final decision to turn the cave into a must-see travel site would be up to the Thailand Department of Natural Resources.

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Thai Cave Rescue Officials Say ‘Thanks But No Thanks’ To Elon Musk’s Mini-Sub

Officials involved in the rescue of the soccer team from the Tham Luang cave complex have politely declined to deploy the submarine brought over by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to assist with the extraction of the kids. According to the BBC, head of the rescue operation Narongsak Osotthanakorn said that they appreciated the help but the equipment he provided is “not practical with [their] mission“:

Even though their equipment is technologically sophisticated, it doesn’t fit with our mission to go in the cave. One of the more difficult parts in getting out of the cave system is a bottleneck that is only 38cm by 72cm at its smallest – so narrow that divers have to remove their tanks to fit through the gap. Asked whether this would provide an obstacle for the submarine, Musk responded on Twitter that the submarine is only 31cm in diameter.

Throughout the process, Musk has entertained the possibility that the sub won’t be of any use, but has said that they will leave it with Thai authorities regardless in case it can be useful in a “future situation“.

related: Elon Musk Is None Too Happy That People Are Laughing At His Submarine

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Thailand Cave Rescue" As it happened

We are closing our live coverage of the rescue mission that has gripped people throughout Thailand and around the world. Here's what you need to know:

All 12 boys and their football coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand after spending 17 days trapped underground
All of those trapped have been taken to hospital. The boys who were rescued on Sunday and Monday are said to be in good health. The others are being examined
The last support divers have also left the Tham Luang cave system in Chiang Rai province
The successful rescue has been celebrated across the world. Leaders including US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Theresa May have welcomed the news
The rescued boys are being kept in isolation due to the risk of them spreading infection. But officials say their families will visit them soon

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Touching tributes & artwork for Thai cave rescue divers fill Internet

As the rescue divers work tirelessly to overcome the odds and save the football team and their coach from the Tham Luang caves, tributes pour in from all corners of the internet.

These tributes take the form of words of encouragement and gratitude, as well as artworks that praise the divers’ bravery and kindness.

Like this illustration which depicts a diver holding on to a boar and guiding it on the way out (the boys’ football team is called Wild Boar).

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Inside the sacred danger of Thailand’s caves

11/07/2018

Thailand Cave Rescue