after more than two weeks underground, the 13 survivors of the cave were evacuated

All children who were stuck with their football coach for two weeks in the cave of Tham Luang in northern Thailand were evacuated Tuesday 10 July, after an extremely dangerous operation. The rescues succeeded one another during the day: a first child was released at the end of the afternoon, followed by a second, and a third in the early evening, before the last three are evacuated shot after time.

Rescuers were engaged in a race against time. The extraction operation lasted three days, the children being evacuated each by two professional divers, on a very difficult course, supposing long passages of diving.

Four young sunday, followed of four others the following day, were able be pulled out of the cave by a team of seasoned foreign divers, flanked by Thai Navy commandos, in meticulously planned operations.

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Good health, international operation

The first group, released Sunday and Monday, was hospitalized, and is "in good health" said Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, the head of the Ministry of Public Health , in front of reporters at Chiang Rai Hospital. "Everyone is in good mental health.

The children underwent radiological and blood tests. Two boys who showed signs of pneumonia received antibiotics and are in a "normal condition" he added, stating that they would all be under observation at the hospital, in quarantine, equipped sunglasses to protect their eyes and followed by psychologists.

The whole of Thailand lived to the rhythm of the saga of the twelve children and their 25-year-old coach, trapped in the vast underground network since 23 June by the rise of the waters.

The drama also fascinated abroad – the international media sent hundreds of journalists on the spot. The children have received messages of support from celebrities as diverse as US President Donald Trump, football star Lionel Messi or American tech guru Elon Musk.

Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May , was one of the first to greet, on Twitter, the "courage of all those who were involved" in the operation. English divers had discovered the children. "All released, a good job! commented on Donald Trump. Americans also joined the international operation, mobilizing several countries.

Young footballers were invited by the International Football Federation (FIFA) to attend the July 15 World Cup final in Russia. But they will not be able to go there because of their state of health requiring hospitalization. "We will seek an opportunity to invite boys to another event" reacted on Tuesday FIFA, who expressed his "great joy" after the rescue and addressed his "profound gratitude to all those involved in the rescue operations, which unfortunately cost the lives of one of the divers"

Seventeen Nights

Rescuers criticized the use of drones by some media during the evacuation operation on Monday, which for some embarrassed helicopters evacuating children. Police on Tuesday announced they are investigating the use of two drones sent to try to get pictures of the children. The Association of Audiovisual Journalists of Thailand on Tuesday urged reporters in "to strictly adhere to the ethics and respect the privacy of those involved in this ordeal" .

The footballers of Wild boars, the name of their team, had spent nine days in the depths of the cave before two British divers managed to join them early last week. Emaciated but alive, they were perched on a promontory, more than four kilometers from the entrance to the vast underground network.

After this discovery, rescuers desperately reviewed all possible solutions, drilling tunnels into the mountain or wait underground for weeks the end of the monsoon.

But faced with the threat of new rains and lower oxygen levels in the room where the group had taken refuge, the authorities decided Sunday to try everything for the whole. The last outings will have spent seventeen nights in the cave.