Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been found alive nine days after they were trapped by rising floodwaters in a cave complex in northern Thailand, a provincial governor announced on Monday.
Video shows the starved and frightened youngsters sitting on rocks waiting to be rescued after nine days of desperate searching.
Chang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters that Thai Navy SEALs had found the group alive but claimed the ‘operation wasn’t over’.
He said: ‘We will bring food to them and a doctor who can dive. I am not sure they can eat as they have not eaten for a while.’
Earlier, a team of rescuers had used huge pumps to reduce the water level, and divers had placed guide ropes and air tanks along the route to reach the site of the trapped boys.
Getting the boys and their coach out in their weakened condition, and without training as scuba divers, will be the next challenge.
Aric Chen
Editor