Huddled together in the dark, some still wearing their red football jerseys, the 12 boys and their coach who have been trapped for nine days inside a cave in Thailand can be seen in a new video as rescuers finally make contact with the group.
The boys, who range in age from 11 to 16, had been trapped in caves just outside of the northern city of Chiang Rai, where a sudden and continuous downpour flooded the exits, sparking an international effort to find the team more than a week ago.
“I confirm they are all safe,” Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters on Monday night after rescuers made contact with the team.
The disappearance of the boys led to an huge search that culminated with Thai Navy SEAL divers swimming hundreds of meters into the caves to find them.
But rescuers said the boys were not yet out of the caves.
“Our mission (is) not done yet,” Mr Osottanakorn said. “We will drain all water out from the cave then we will take all 13 people out of the cave. Yea re now planning how to send nurse and donor inside the cave to check their health and movement. We will work all night”.
The governor also noted that they are sending food into the cave, though it is not clear if they will be able to “eat it or not because it is almost 10 days” inside of the cave without food.
News that the boys had been found was met with jubilance Monday night outside of the caves, when family were told their children were alive. Some families had been holding near constant vigil outside of the caves, hoping for good news.
That vigil included prayer by the Lisu tribal members who could be seen outside, hoping to appease to the spirits of the cave to let the children live.
