The 12 players and coach of the Wild Boars football team dramatically rescued from a Thai cave last week have spoken publicly about their ordeal for the first time at a press conference beamed around the world.
A packed crowd greeted the youngsters after they were discharged from hospital in Chiang Rai, and watched as they played with footballs on a small makeshift pitch before taking their seats.
“It is a miracle,” Wild Boars footballer Adul Sam-on, 14, said of the rescue, as the boys were gently quizzed about their terrifying experience.
That’s it for now. Here’s a full write-up:
Updated
Here's what we learned
- The 12 boys and their coach all appeared remarkably composed and happy at a carefully-controlled press conference to mark their release from hospital after being rescued last week from the Tham Luang cave complex. They all apologised to their parents for putting them through the ordeal. All had agreed to enter the cave.
-
The coach Ekaphol Chantawong, or Ake, said they felt guilty when they were told about the death of Saman Kunan, the former Thai navy Seal who was killed trying to rescue them. The boys thanked their rescuers and medical staff, and paid tribute to Kunan. They also bowed before a portrait of the Thai king.
- The boys tried to dig for safety when they realised they were trapped by rising water. They managed to burrow a hole into the cave in shifts after the water rose by 3m. They survived only on water until British divers arrived after nine days.
- All the boys can swim, contrary to earlier reports, and they swam to safety when the water first started rising. Coach Ake said he urged the boys not to be scared and reassured them that they would be rescued.
- None of the boys wanted to leave the cave first when rescuers asked for volunteers. All were considered strong enough to leave on the first day of the rescue. Coach Ake said “no one rushed to get out of the cave because we were so close to one another”.
- The media was urged to give the boys uninterrupted time with their families so as not to harm their recovery. More than 100 questions were submitted at the press conference. Only a selection of vetted questions were asked.
- The physical and mental health of the boys was described by a psychologist as “quite good”. The coach confirmed that the boys plan to be ordained as monks as a tribute to Kunan.
- Four of the team, who are currently stateless, will be granted Thai citizenship. An official said the paperwork had already been submitted.
Updated
The boys are each given a heavy-looking white tub by a regional official.
They are then ushered out of the hall and driven away in a mini-van.
Q: Do you plan to be ordained as monks as a tribute to Kunan?
Ake confirms that’s the plan.
A doctor said it was important that the boys be allowed uninterrupted time with their families, and appeals to the media to leave them alone. A psychologist says interruptions will disturb their chance of a normal life.
Q: Will the four stateless players be given citizenship?
The papers have already been submitted, a regional official says. The official passes on the best wishes of the King of Thailand.
The boys bow before a portrait of the King.
The boys then pose again on the stage and give a gesture of thanks before walking off the stage.
And that’s it.
Q: What will you say to your parents?
I want to say sorry, all the boys reply. Many point out that they did not tell their parents they were going to cave but only practicing football. Another says he did tell his parents he was going to cave, but he told them the wrong cave.
One said he feared he would be punished by his father.
Q: What’s the first thing you want to do at home?
The boys list their favourite dishes. One boy talked in his sleep about his favourite food.
Mark couldn’t get out on the first two days because there was no full face mask small enough, a doctor said.
Q: Who decided which boys left first?
Ake said no one competed about who left first. He joked that those who lived furtherest from the cave were chosen first.
The boys were considered to be equally strong, a doctor said. It came down to who volunteered first. Ake said no one rushed to get out of the cave because we were so close to one another.
Q: Would you go back to the cave?
Ake says he might with a guide. Another boy said he wouldn’t go back.
Another confirms he was worried about doing his homework while in the cave.
Updated
Q: What is your dream?
I want to be a footballer, one boys says. I feel stronger and have more patience and endurance.
Titan says the experience taught me to value life.
Bew also says he wants to be footballer or a navy Seal. There is applause for that answer.
Four boys also indicate they want to be navy seals.
One boys says he want to play football for Thailand.
Q: What lessons have you learned?
Coach Ake says my lesson is we truly appreciated all of your kindness. We have to be more careful and check on activities.
Another boys “I promise to be a good person, a good citizen”.
Adul said it was on an unexpected experience which has has taught me not to live life callously. From now on I will live my life carefully.
The boys played chequers with the divers. They lost to a Navy Seal dubbed “king of the cave”.
One of the boys described one of the Seals as like his father because he called him “kid”.
The Seal doctor who stayed recalled the death Saman Kunan.
Everyone was shocked when they heard of Kunan’s death, coach Ake said. “We felt guilty, because of his death,” Ake said.
A picture of Kunan is shown to the media with messages written by the boys. The picture will be given to Kunan’s family. Some boys read out the messages they wrote about Kunan. “I want to say thank you”, one boy reads. “Thank you from the depth of my heart” another reads.
A British diver identified as Jason delivered food to the boys, a Thai navy seal officer told the press conference.
They considered drilling into the cave to get them out, he confirms.
Full face masks were found for the boys, the officer also confirmed.
Boys tried to dig to safety
Q: What did you think about when you were hungry?
One boy said he thought about fried rice.
Ake said some thought there was a way out of the cave, so they moved backwards through the cave. We heard the water rising towards us while we waiting to be rescued. It rose nearly 3m. They couldn’t hear the rain outside, Ake said.
They tried digging for something to do, Ake said. We took turns, he said.
We tried to keep digging for a safe space. They drank water in between digging shifts, Ake recalls.
Updated
Ake said the boys tried to dig their way out at first. I said to them don’t be scared, because the water will go down tomorrow, Ake said.
We saw water dripping from the walls so we stayed near the water source. At the time we were not scared, because we thought the water would go down and someone would rescue us.
Ake said he tried to boost the boys’ morale and tried to find water to drink from the walls of the cave. The water was clean, he said.
We had no food, we only drank water, one of the boys says.
All the boys can swim
Q: Why did you go in the cave?
Ake said everyone agreed to go to the cave. We had never been in cave, but posted about it on Facebook, he said. They saw water coming into the cave and considered leaving the cave. They did not go into the cave because of the birthday for Nite, he clarified.
We knew we were trapped on our way back. We had to get wet and swim. We all can swim, Ake said. It was not true that we could not swim, after football we do swimming activities.
We didn’t realise how far the water could rise, Ake said.
Someone shouted “are we lost?”, Ake said. Ake said he reassured them that they were not lost and could get out with ropes.
When they realised they were trapped one boy said he thought of his mother.
Updated
Dul recalls telling the divers they had been in the cave for 10 days. Their brains were very slow at the time, he said.
Bew said the group were hungry, the questioner prompts.
Q Did you watch the World Cup final?
Ake said it was fun. A boy who cheered the loudest during the game recalls watching the match.
Ake said most of the team backed France in the final.
Q What was it like when he you saw the British divers?
Dul says they heard someone speaking and listened not believing anyone was there. Mick who had a torched approached the British divers.
When he emerged I said “hello”, Dul said. They were surprised that he was not a Thai. This was a miracle moment, he said. Dul responded “we’re fine” Dul recalls.
When he said there were 13 safe in the cave, the rescuer said “brilliant”.
Coach Ake said he urged Dul to translate what the British divers were saying. Ake recalls Dul urging the team to be patient.
The team introduce themselves in turn starting with Ake, the 25-year-old coach.
The three Thai navy Seals who stayed with the cave with the boys also identify themselves.
The strength of the boys has returned, a health official says. They are looking forward to eating home cooking. They can go back and lead a normal life now, the official says.
Another official says the boys’ mental state is “quite good”. They have had good moral and mental support since being rescued a third official says.
The boys listened to the instruction given. “They were quite obedient” an official, identified as a psychologist, says.
The team we’ve all been rooting for! #WildBoars pic.twitter.com/fHsLLZpZLR
— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) July 18, 2018
In the video clip the boys are shown thanking the medical staff at the Chian Rai Prachanukroh hospital.
All 12 boys, and the coach appear, to be present.
More than 100 questions have been submitted by journalists, a host says. The questions have been vetted by doctors.
The boys are on stage now while a video clip of them recovering in hospital is played.
Here’s the kickabout as they arrived:
Updated
Boys arrive
Here we go: the press conference is about to get underway as the boys arrive at the hall.
The boys give thank you signs and thumbs up as the enter the all.
They also play with the footballs on the the mini pitch set up in the hall.
You can follow it on Facebook here.
Updated
The new conference will be broadcast on national TV in a programme called Thailand Moves Forward, after a rendition of the national anthem.
The venue for the press conference is Chiang Rai’s provincial hall.
6pm The nightly propaganda program produced by the Thai military government is about to go live with a press conference featuring the 13 cave boys #ThamLuang #พาทีมหมูป่ากลับบ้าน #ถ้ำหลวง #Thailand #ThaiCaveRecue pic.twitter.com/6FW1tuC0xF
— Richard Barrow in Thailand (@RichardBarrow) July 18, 2018
Updated
Thai PBS News has more images of the boys as they left hospital. They are all dressed in Wild Boar team t-shirts.
17.00 น. น้องๆ ทีมหมูป่า ออกจากโรงพยาบาลเพื่อไปสถานที่แถลงข่าวแล้ว #ThaiPBSnews pic.twitter.com/XYNd8CYuQV
— ThaiPBS News (@ThaiPBSNews) July 18, 2018
Boys leave hospital
The boys have left hospital.
Thailand's cave boys leave hospital for first public appearance https://t.co/TzJVIIIAjl
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 18, 2018
It is unclear how many of the boys will show up at the press conference. The BBC reported that only the boys who feel comfortable talking to the media will be present.
It may also be a challenge to work out which boys are talking at the press conference, as there appear to be no plans to issue labels identifying the players.
For brevity we will use nicknames to identify the players if it clear who is talking.
Photograph: Chaichan Chaimun/EPA
Following their release from hospital, the boys are now planning to enter the Thai monkhood, as a way to pay tribute to the Thai Navy Sea, Saman Kunan, who died during the rescue operation.
While ordaining as a full monk is only available to men over 20, the boys will train as novices. It is not an uncommon choice for young men in Thailand, where almost 90% of the country is Buddhist and is also not a lifelong commitment.
While some choose to remain monks for their entire lives, most Buddhists ordain for just a few years.
When they are ordained as novices it is reported the boys will donate their merit to the memory of Saman, which is the highest honour in Buddhism. It is thought they will ordain as novices at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, one of the most sacred temples in northern Thailand.
It has also been seen as a fitting choice because the boy’s football coach Ekkapol Chantawong had trained as a novice monk for over a decade, before leaving three years ago.
During the nine days they were all trapped in the cave, without contact from the outside world, Ekkapol taught the boys meditation and used Buddhist prayer as a vital way to keep their energy and spirits up.
Here’s what we know about the boys and their coach:
Ekaphol Chantawong, 25, the coach, nicknamed Ake
The assistant coach of the Wild Boars took his squad into the cave on 23 June. He was once ordained as a Buddhist monk, and since leaving the order has spent much of his time caring for his grandmother. Thai news outlets have reported that the authorities have not ruled out charging him with a crime, but Thai government spokesman Lt Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak told the Guardian that “no one is talking about that”.
Werachon said the coach’s presence had been a comfort to the boys: “The coach is advising them that they need to lie down, of course [try] meditation, try not to move their bodies too much, try not to waste their energy. And of course, by meditation, they stay conscious all the time, so their mind will not be wandering around.”
In a letter written inside the cave and delivered to the parents of the Wild Boars last week, Chantawong, who has coached the team for more than three years, apologised and promised to take care of their children.
The parents wrote back: “Don’t blame yourself … No parents are angry with you at all, so don’t you worry about that.”
Adul Sam-on, 14, nicknamed Dul
He was the boy who called out in English to ask the British divers what day it was when they first reached the team. He added that he and his friends were hungry. His teammates, unable to follow the conversation, chattered “eat, eat, eat” with the little English they had. Adul assured his friends: “I already told them.”
His English skills have won him the admiration of millions in Thailand, where fewer than 30% of the population speak the language. According to local news outlets, his knowledge of English comes from his involvement in church activities. He also speaks Thai, Mandarin, and Burmese, which he learned living just over the border in Shan state, Myanmar. Like many students in Thailand’s Mae Sai district, he commutes over the border every day.
Mongkhol Boonpiam,13, nicknamed Mark.
Along with the coach and Adul Sam-on, Boonpiam is technically stateless.
His family come from northern Thailand’s porous and largely lawless border regions abutting Myanmar’s Shan state. As such the three are not considered citizens under Thai law, leaving them without many of the rights their teammates enjoy.
Thailand’s sports daily Siamsport reported that Mark has been playing football since he was in nursery school and loves the sport so much that he almost always wears a football shirt. His favourite team is Muangthong United, the leading team in the Thai Premier League.
He was has been named by Thai media as one of first four boys to be rescued from the cave.
“I just heard his name, Mongkhol, and I was happy enough,” his mother said.
Prajak Sutham, 14, nicknamed Note
He occasionally plays in goal when he is not in midfield. He has been playing football for two years and is known to be keen mountain biker.
In a note to his family written while trapped in the cave he wrote: “Mum, are you doing well at home? I am doing well. Please tell my teacher I love her. Love you, mum.”
He was also named as one of first four boys to be rescued from the cave.
Nattawut Takamsai, 14 nicknamed Tle
He was one of three strikers trapped in the cave.
His mother wrote to all the team while they were trapped saying: “Please don’t blame yourself.”
She added: “We are not mad at you at all. Do take good care of yourself. Don’t forget to cover yourself with blanket as the weather is cold. We’re worried. You will come out soon.”
She also told the coach: “We want you to know that no parents are angry with you at all, so don’t you worry about that.”
Pipat Bodhi, 15, nicknamed Nick
He is not a member of the Wild Boars team but joined the team’s practice match on 23 June to spend time with his friend Ekkarat Wongsookchan.
As one of the strongest he was one of the first boys rescued from the cave.
In a video released by the hospital over the weekend he said: “Thank you. I’m okay. I like to have rice with roast red pork and crispy pork.”
Panumas Saeangdee, 13, nicknamed Mick
Mick has been described as an ideal defender because of his fitness and fluid movement. However, his coaches have recently considered playing him as a striker because he is strong in the air and skilful with his head. He is said to play as well as a 15-year-old.
His family sat in vigil outside the cave after the boys went missing. “We all are sad and hope to see him soon,” his aunt told reporters.
She was been sitting vigil with Mick’s mother and grief-stricken grandfather who at the time had barely spoken in days.
“I’m taking care of his Grandpa... he hasn’t eaten much. He was the one who raised Mick, so I’m trying to comfort him,” she told AFP.
Speaking in the hospital video he said: “I’m fine. I’m safe now. I’m healthy. I like to have pork fried with basil. Thank you.”
Duangpetch Promthep, 13, nicknamed Dom
The captain of the Wild Boar team and one of three forwards trapped in the cave.
His teammates on the U16 squad say he has the qualities of a leader and a good sense of humour. Dom has been invited to trials by a number of leading provincial teams, including Sukhothai FC and Chiangrai United FC.
His beaming mother Thanaporn Promthep, was photographed with a an image of her son on an iPad after hearing the news that the group was found on July.
Recovering in hospital he said: “I’m healthy. Thank you for [your] help. I like to have rice with stewed pork leg.”
Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, 11 nicknamed Titan
Titan is the youngest Wild Boars player. He has been playing football for five years. When he joined his school’s sports club three years ago, he was invited to play for the Wild Boars.
He was one of the 11th boy to be rescued.
After the rescue his father, named Tanawut, said his son described the first three days in the cave as the hardest. The group was hungry and cold. The boys had trouble sleeping, and Titan cried, because he was missing his parent.
Tanawut says he’s touched by the actions of the team’s coach. Without him, the father says, he doesn’t know how the kids could have survived.
“Coach Ake hugged and encouraged him to be strong,” Tanawut told CBS.
Ekkarat Wongsookchan, 14 nicknamed Bew
The squad’s goalkeeper has reportedly improved his game over the past few years as a result of his disciplined personality. At the end of each training session, he steps up to collect the team’s equipment.
While trapped in the cave he wrote to his parents saying: ‘Don’t worry about me, dad and mum. I’ll be away for just two weeks. I’ll later help you, mum, sell goods when I have time. I’ll rush out of here.”
In a video released by the Thai ministry of health Bew is shown in his hospital bed raising his arms in a boxer’s victory pose.
He said: “say thanks to everyone that worried”.
Peerapat Sompiangjai, 16 nicknamed Nite
It was Peerapat’s birthday the group were celebrating when they entered the cave.
His sister told AFP the family had prepared a birthday cake for the right-winger along with grilled pork to celebrate with him that night.
A member of his cycling club, Sittthisak Sawanrak, told the BBC he was quiet but “a great lad who just loves to cycle and play football”.
He said he was looking forward to eating barbecued pork when he gets home.
Pornchai Kamluang, 16 nicknamed Tee
One of the defenders on the Wild Boar team.
“Don’t worry, I’m very happy”, he said in a letter to his parents while trapped in the cave.
In his hospital video message he said: “I want to eat fried rice with crispy pork. Thank you for sending us your support.”
Sompong Jaiwong, 13 nicknamed Pong
One of the team’s midfielders he was pictured in a red England shirt while huddled in the cave.
In a note to parents, written while trapped in the cave, he wrote: “I love you dad and mum. Don’t worry. We are all safe now. Love you all.”
In his hospital video message he said: “Thank you everyone from around the globe for helping us.
“I’m healthy. I like to eat basil pork with a fried egg.”
Preview
Welcome to live our coverage of an eagerly-awaited press conference due to be given by the Wild Boar football team after their dramatic rescue from the Tham Luang cave complex last week.
The 45-minute press conference, which will be broadcast live on national TV and around the world, is due to begin at 6pm local time (12pm BST).
The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach have been recovering from their ordeal in Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital. They are due to be discharged, a day earlier than expected, after talking to the media.
The Thai authorities hope the press conference will satisfy huge media interest in the boys’ story. They have been concerned about the impact of sudden fame and media attention on the boys’ mental health, so the news conference will be carefully controlled.
Journalists have submitted questions which have been vetted by psychologists. Approved questions will be asked by an official.
This controlled approach means the boys are unlikely to be asked about the controversy over Elon Musk’s rejected offers of help during the rescue and his subsequent attack on officials and one of the British divers involved in the rescue. (Musk has since apologised).
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, said: “We want to reduce public curiosity. We arrange it so that, after that, the boys can go back to their regular lives,” Sansern said.
At a video played at a press conference over the weekend, the boys appeared in good spirits, thanking those involved in their rescue.
They also posed for a photograph with a drawing of former Navy Seal diver Saman Kunan who died on 6 July while placing oxygen tanks along the passageways of the cave.
The boys were moved to tears after being told of Kunan’s death over the weekend.
Updated
