Thai SEAL confirm rescue of the 12 Thai Boys and their Coach

All of the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach trapped for more than two weeks deep inside a flooded cave have been rescued.

According to Thailand navy SEAL unit on Tuesday, a successful end to a perilous mission that has gripped the world.

“The 12 Wild Boars and coach have emerged from the cave and they are safe,” the 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.

A team of British divers found the boys and their coach all hungry and in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometres inside the complex, on Monday last week.

A rescue operation was launched on Sunday when four of the boys were brought out, tethered to rescue divers.

On Monday, another four were rescued and the last four boys and the coach were brought out on Tuesday.

Three members of the SEAL unit and an army doctor, who has stayed with the boys since they were found, were the last people due to come out of the cave, the unit said although a former SEAL member is reported dead.

The eight boys brought out on Sunday and Monday were in good health overall and some asked for chocolate bread for breakfast, officials said earlier.

Authorities have not confirmed the identity of the rescued boys and some of their parents said they had not been told who had been brought out. They were not allowed to visit the hospital where the boys were taken.

The rescued boys had not been identified out of respect for the families whose sons were still trapped, officials had said.

The boys were still being quarantined from their parents because of the risk of infection and would likely be kept in hospital for a week to undergo tests, officials said earlier on Tuesday.