The 12 boys rescued from a flooded Thai cave have made their first public appearance since the 17-day ordeal came to a dramatic conclusion last week, leaving hospital to take part in a news conference broadcast around the world.
To anyone who somehow missed the rolling coverage of the search and rescue operation in Chiang Rai, the 45-minute special on Thai national TV might have seemed like a lot of fuss over boys who seemed healthy, alert and engaged, making jokes on stage and laughing along with the assembled audience of journalists.
It was quite an extraordinary recovery from the same group of boys who were first seen in a video, nine days after they disappeared into the Tham Luang cave network on 23 June, looking cold, thin and scared.
Thai officials say the "Wild Boars" team members and their coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, will be eased into their newfound life in the spotlight, and it was revealed at the news conference that they took part in a confidence-building exercise on their last evening in hospital. Doctors said they were ready to be discharged after they gained an average of 3kg of weight and were shown in blood tests to be recovering well from minor infections.
Wearing new football shirts numbered 1 to 13, the boys arrived at a government building straight from hospital and were asked to display their football skills to the cameras, before taking seats for the Q and A, with questions pre-approved and put by a single TV presenter.
It was left to Ekkapol, or "Coach Ekk" as he was referred to by the boys, to describe the day they entered the caves. Among other things, it was revealed that the boys did not take any food with them on their expedition, contrary to media reports.
Describing how the boys got lost, the coach said the boys initially "just wanted to walk around" the cave before some asked if they could venture deeper. After testing the water and finding it "wasn't too deep", Ekkapol agreed that they could swim further in.
When they turned round to go back, a short while later, the coach said, the water level had dramatically risen and they became disorientated, losing sight of the exit.
Asked how he felt at this point, one of the youngest boys in the team said the boys were "afraid they wouldn't see their families again". "I was afraid I wouldn't go home, that I would be told off by my mother," he said.
One boy identified himself as Adul Sam-on, the 14-year-old who stepped forward and spoke in English to the two British volunteer divers who first found the boys on Monday 2 July.
Describing the moment, he said: “We were on top of the hill and Coach Ekk said it sounded like there were some people speaking. We were not sure so we kept quiet and listened - and it was true. We were surprised, and he [Coach Ekk] asked [the boy holding the torch] to go down and check, and hurry before they pass by.”
The boy with the torch hesitated, at which point Adul grabbed the light himself, stepped down the hill and said, in English, “Hello”. The subsequent exchange - including the divers’ delight at being told they had found all 13 members of the team - was captured on video by the divers and broadcast around the world.
"It was magical," he said. "I had to think a lot before I could answer their questions."
During the news conference, the boys revealed for the first time how they had tried desperately to carve their own way out of the raised chamber where they were trapped, surrounded by flood waters for most of the ordeal - efforts which proved futile.
"We took turns digging at the cave walls," said the coach. "We didn't want to wait around until authorities found us."
Ekkapol also revealed how little the boys appreciated the scale of the rescue effort beyond the chamber where they were trapped. Asked how he chose which boy should leave the cave first with divers, he said he picked the best cyclist of the group - thinking he would have to cycle home from the cave entrance.
While some responses prompted laughter, there were serious moments too.
Two of the boys held up a framed pencil sketch of Saman Kunan, 38, the former Thai navy SEAL who died while working to replenish oxygen supplies along the cave exit route.
"Thank you for coming to rescue us," one boy said to the picture of Mr Kunan. "Sorry to your family. I wish you rest in peace, from the bottom of my heart. Sorry again."
Asked about the moment in hospital when the team all found out a diver had died during the rescue, Ekkapol said: "Everyone was very sad. They felt like they were the reason he had to die and his family had to suffer."
The boys were accompanied on stage by the four Thai Navy SEALs who stayed with them in the cave for more than a week while evacuation plans were being drawn up.
And while many of the boys said they wanted to be professional footballers when they grew up, one drew a strong reaction from the audience when he said he wanted to become "a Navy SEAL, so I can save people".
The boys were reunited with some schoolfriends before the Q and A and were expected to head home with their parents afterwards.
Many said their first message for their parents was an apology - none appeared to have informed their parents of the cave visit beforehand, saying only they were going to play football.
“Sorry for being a naughty boy,” one said. “I will not go in the caves again.”
As the news conference drew to a close, a psychologist who has been working with the boys appealed to the media for their “cooperation” with the boys’ recovery, saying they should be left alone to live like normal children.
The new governor of Chiang Rai, who was not directly involved in the rescue effort, said the boys would continue to receive support from the local government, and handed out gift packages "from the prime minister".
While the boys seemed generally cheerful, "we don't know what wounds the kids are carrying in their hearts," said justice ministry official Tawatchai Thaikaew.
"The media know the children are in a difficult situation, they have overcome peril and if you ask risky questions then it could break the law," he told reporters.
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