Four boys among 12 who were stuck in the flooded cave in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai were rescued on Monday, the Thai Navy SEAL said in a Facebook post. The rescue operations were thereafter suspended for the day, CNN reported.
As many as four boys stuck in the Tham Luang cave had been rescued on Sunday. The names of those rescued have not been released. The fifth boy was taken out of the cave before 5 pm local time (3.30 pm Indian Standard Time) while the sixth boy was stretchered out an hour later, The Guardian reported. Four boys and their football coach are still trapped inside the cave.
The second day of rescue operations began at 11 am local time (9.30 pm IST). “At 11 am we sent the second team,” said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the governor of Chiang Rai. He said that water level in the cave continued to recede, facilitating the rescue operations five hours early on Monday.
“The rescue team is the same team with a few replacements for those exhausted,” he added.
Thailand Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said that the boys, who have been hospitalised, were “strong and safe” but needed a medical checkup. She added that the four boys rescued on Sunday were hungry and asked for a local dish.
The trapped boys have been divided into groups. Doctors have reportedly drawn up a priority evacuation list, with the weakest to be brought out first and the strongest in the end.
Thirteen foreign divers are helping five Navy SEAL members rescue the boys through narrow and submerged passageways that claimed the life of former Thai Navy diver Saman Kunan on Friday.
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