The soccer team and their coach were finally rescued from a Thai cave. The last group of 5 were taken out on July 10th, after spending 17 days in darkness.
The news the entire world was waiting for has finally been made: all 12 boys and their coach were successfully rescued from a flooded cave in Northern Thailand, after nearly three weeks of living in complete darkness.
Thailand’s Navy SEALs celebrated the big news on one of their social media networks with a post on Tuesday evening that says:
“All the thirteen Wild Boars are now out of the cave. We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what.”
All 13 were taken to the hospital and are recovering, but their families and friends were not allowed yet to come in direct contact with them. According to the medical staff, the boys were in good condition, despite each of them losing about two kilograms in weight as they were being trapped in the cave.
Dr. Tongchai Lertvirairatanapong, who is also the Health Ministry Inspector, said that a great part of the boys’ relative good health was possible due to the coach’s skills and knowledge. Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, who is a 25-year-old football coach and a former monk kept calm during the entire time while being trapped in the cave and helped the boys maintain the same calm state. He was the last person rescued.
“I have to praise the coach who took care of the footballers very well,” Lertvirairatanapong said in an interview.
The group hadn’t eaten any food during the nine days before they were found and drank only murky water that was trickling down the cave walls.
The first group of four boys was rescued on Sunday, July 8th, and they have already been allowed to see their families and friends, but only through a glass partition. They were also allowed to speak to them using a telephone line. The same goes for the second group of four boys that were rescued on Monday, July 9th. However, the third and final group rescued from the cave on Tuesday, July 10th, are still undergoing various tests to ensure they are in good health condition. All of them will be kept in hospital for at least seven days in order for their immune systems to recover accordingly.
A few hours after the final group of boys was rescued, the three SEAL divers and the medic also returned to the surface. They had volunteered to remain next to the soccer team and their coach in the cramped and dry refuge for several days.
The plight of the football team and their coach brought international attention to them, from the moment they were missing to the miraculous moment also caught on camera when they were found 10 days later by some British divers.
Now that they are all out and safe, FIFA, the international soccer federation had already made them an invitation to come and attend the World Cup final that will be played in Russia this Sunday, July 15th. But according to the doctors that are treating the boys, they are still not ready to make the trip.
