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MAE SAI, Thailand – When the roar of the ambulance siren reached the Thai village, people began to clap: The noise meant that one of the boys trapped in a cave during more than two weeks was finally en route to
After more than a week of research in the flooded cave complex, then planning days of a daring and increasingly desperate rescue, divers safely evacuated four of 13 members of a youth football team on Sunday. behind, waiting for their turn to escape, as early as Monday morning. The boys on the team are between 11 and 16 years old, and the coach with them is 25 years old.
One by one, the first four survivors emerged after a dragging trip, one hour, through the underwater pbadages of Tham Luang. Cave. Experienced divers, part of a team gathered from around the world, hugged the four bodies to their bodies while they were swimming in the dark.
"The fourth boar came out of the cave" page of Thai Navy SEALs, who help in the rescue. The Wild Boars is the name of the boys' football team.
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After the first four survivors, however, the evacuation stopped. There was no choice: the rescuers had used all the air tanks that the divers had placed along the road, said Narongsak Osottanakorn, the chief of operations research. It would take ten to twenty hours to replace the tanks for the next rescue attempt, he said.
The rescue was far from over – but it was a remarkable turning point in the 16-day drama that captivated Thailand and the world "Today, everything went very smoothly ", Narongsak told a crowd of reporters at a press conference. "Today is the best day, with the best weather situation, boys' health and water level."
It took just 10 days to locate the missing boys, who were at the bottom of the complex flooded cave. Then it took almost a week to find a way to extract them.
None of the options was easy: to break a mountain. Wait for months for the flood waters to retreat. Or escort scared and exhausted young people, few, if any, of whom could swim through an underwater labyrinth that intimidated even the best cave divers in the world.
Emphasizing how boys could come out of the cave On Friday, a volunteer diver, Saman Gunan, 38, a former Thai Navy member, died after fainting while he was under control. ;water. He had placed air tanks along the road – the same task that other divers now have to hurry to complete.
But Sunday's rescues were faster than expected, giving hope that the remaining nine members could be extracted quickly. 19659002] With most of the team still in the cave, rescuers ran against time and time. Dark clouds enveloped the mountains above the cave much of the day Sunday, bringing heavy rains and threatening to raise the level of water in the cave
After having Considered several alternatives, Thai officials have full face masks so that they can breathe normally.
Narongsak said 90 divers helped with Sunday's rescue, including about 50 overseas. He said that 18 divers – 13 foreigners and five Thai – formed the team that took out the four.
He did not say which countries came from foreign divers, but British divers played a key role in the operation. the United States, Australia and China have all sent teams to help. Divers from several other countries also volunteered.
The divers entered the cave at 10 o'clock and Mr. Narongsak said at the time that he was expecting the first rescue to be done before 9 o'clock. In fact, it was three hours earlier than that. The last of the four was taken from the cavern before 8 pm
All four were quickly transported to a hospital in Chiang Rai, the nearest big city.
Before the mission began, expert divers said the first kilometer of the trip out of Tham Luang's cave would be the most dangerous.
Tandem divers could expect to face strong currents and to cross dangerous tunnels without any air pockets to ensure their safety in case of emergency. to do, because any confusion in there would be really bad, "Narongsak told reporters shortly after the start of the operation.
On Saturday, Narongsak told reporters that a Rescue attempt was not imminent.But the weather suddenly worsened overnight, prompting officials to act swiftly.
"We believe that it is not necessary. There are no days when we have been more ready than today, "Narongsak said on Sunday." If we do not do the rescue the day we are ready, we risk to lose the opportunity to carry out this mission. "
The cave where the group has taken refuge is about 2.5 to 3 miles from the solitary entrance to the cave. the cave is flooded, experienced divers can take more than five hours to travel between the entrance and the cave.
Teams pumped huge amounts of water into the cave, which improved access to the area. But the water levels farther from the entrance have dropped more slowly.
The people of the area were delighted with the rescue of the first four.
In Mae Sai City, where the boys' football team is located, residents and family members celebrated the sound of every helicopter and ambulance they heard. evidence that some boys had left the cave and were in a hurry to be cured. The medical conditions of the four rescued persons were not known.
"I'm so happy!" Said Kamon Chanthapun, a counselor to the boys' team. "I was so worried because they are just kids, stuck for so long in the dark."
One of the members of the team, Adul Sam-on, is a student at Ban Wiang Phan School here. Inside, students wrote messages on heart-shaped sticky notes placed in a heart shape on a bulletin board with optimistic messages. "I hope our friend can come out safe and sound," read one.
Adul was the boy who spoke to British divers in English in the video that told the world that the team had finally been found after 10 days.
Many family members spent each day and night at the command center near the cave, praying for the boys to come out alive.
Parents said that they were not angry with coach Ekkapol Chantawong. the boys in the cave. Instead, they praised his efforts to keep them alive during the ordeal.
"He loves children," said Nopparat Khanthawong, the team's head coach. "It would do anything for them."
The boys were trapped in the cavern on June 23rd after cycling with Mr. Ekkapol after training.
. But the cave is, in essence, a seasonal underground river, and the rain began to fall soon after their arrival. In a few hours they were trapped by the rising water.
Their discovery after 10 days inside the cave, and successful evacuations on Sunday, beat what many had seen as a daunting chance. The diver who participates in the operation said that the conditions in the cave complex were so difficult that the discovery of the boys resembled the ascent of the mount. Everest According to them, it would be even harder to get them out without danger than to locate them.
Two British divers discovered the group Monday night while they were preparing the last of their instructions and that they were about to turn back
. Since then, the boys have been gaining strength and learning to use diving equipment in anticipation of their escape.
Four members of the Thai Navy stayed with the group, including a Thai army doctor who is also a SEAL, who was seen on a music video treating their scrapes and cuts.
In Thailand, the fate of boys has brought together, at least temporarily, a country long divided between the urban elite and the rural poor.
also has a relatively new monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who acceded to the throne in 2016. He reported that he is closely monitoring the search and rescue operation. He donated supplies to the rescue effort and urged the authorities to get the boys out as soon as possible.
On Monday, we expect divers to try to save as many boys as possible.
really happy now, "said Mr. Nopparat, the head coach." But I continue to root for the rest of the team. "
Muktita Suhartono and Navaon Siradapuvadol contributed to the report.
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