After being trapped in a cave for 18 days and spending over a week in hospital, the 12 "Wild Boars" and their football coach met the press for the first time yesterday at a news conference with one of the youngsters describing their rescue as a "miracle".
The group was interviewed on the government's daily Dern Nah Prathet Thai (Thailand Moves Forward) programme which was broadcast live from Chiang Rai's provincial administrative organization office at 6pm.
Journalists began flocking to the venue early yesterday morning, after it was announced on Tuesday that the group would appear on the programme hosted by veteran journalist Suthichai Yoon.
At 6pm, the group appeared to cheers and applause and looked to be in good health and and spirits.
Despite the casual atmosphere, media questions were screened by specialists, including psychologists, to make sure sensitive questions were omitted.
The "meet the press" session was organised in an apparent attempt to limit their overall exposure to the media.
Many questions centred on how they coped for 10 days in the dark cave without food and water and how they decided who would be first to be rescued.
The day after becoming trapped in the flooded cave, 25-year-old Ekkapol Chanthawong, known as "Coach Ek", and the children began talking about their chances of survival.
"I had thought on the Saturday night it's just a rising tide and the water would recede the next day, only to discover that would not happen,'' Mr Ekkapol said.
Some boys, who once visited Tham Luang, suggested finding another way out so they made their way along more than half the length of the 10.3km cave, the fourth longest in Thailand.
After walking further, some started becoming more anxious. "I feared I would not return home and that my mum was angry with me," Mongkhon "Mark" Bunpiam, a 13-year-old midfielder said. The rapidly rising water level however suddenly washed away any hope of walking out of another cave entrance.
Despite having only torches and drinking drops of water from stalactites, the team still believed they would survive. They decided not to give up, by taking turns to dig a new tunnel or shaft to get out. In about a week, "we managed to dig about 3-4 metres," Mr Ekkapol said.
This became the routine until two British divers discovered them on the night of July 2.
"It was a miracle," said Adul Sam-on, the 14-year-old fullback, who spoke to the divers when they asked the team how many of them there were.
Adul said he only knows a little English and, though it appeared in a video clip he knew more, he found it very hard to think of the right words.
"My brain was working very slowly," he said.
Asked about who was to be extracted from the cave first, it was agreed those who lived the furthest way should be rescued first, said Mr Ekkapol.
"So they could ride their bicycles home and tell everyone's family to prepare food for us," he said, appearing to contradict speculation that the weaker ones were the first to be extracted.
Lt Col Pak Loharachun, a navy doctor, said Richard Harris, an Australian diver and doctor who played a vital role in the cave rescue operation, assessed the group's health and cleared them all for evacuation.
"Any of them could have gone first," Mr Ekkapol said.
Lt Col Pak said the initial plan was to bring six boys out of the cave on the first day of the rescue because there was not enough diving gear or diving experts to guide them out. They settled on rescuing four boys on the first day, another four on the second and the remaining four and the coach on the last day.
The smallest boy had to wait for a small diving mask, which is why he was among those evacuated last, Dr Pak said.
Throughout the ordeal, the boys said they and the Navy Seals formed a bond.
"I think of them [the Seals] as father figures. They called me 'son'," said one of the boys.
The boys said a Seal diver they have grown attached to called Pi Baitoey played chess exceptionally well during their time in the cave.
Asked what they would say to their parents, Several said they were sorry for not telling their parents that they planned to visit the cave.
"I told my mum I was going to football practice but in fact I planned to explore the cave," the boy added.
Meanwhile, His Majesty the King yesterday granted permission for the government to use the Royal Plaza to organise a thank-you event for those involved in the Tham Luang cave rescue, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said.
He said the cabinet has assigned PM's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana to organise the event, adding that a date for has yet to be determined.
