Thailand was in joy and relief Wednesday after the mission to rescue the last group of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave complex was accomplished successfully.
The Thai rescue ended a 17-day ordeal that won international and local attention and sympathy.
The last members of the group of 13 from the "Wild Boars" soccer team were brought out of the flooded cave on Tuesday night and taken by helicopter and then by road to a hospital about 70 km (45 miles) from the Thames Lung cave, Reuters reported.
Despite spending days in the dark, dank cave health officials said the boys - who are aged 11 to 16 - are in good physical and mental health.
"It might be because they were all together as a team, helping each other out," Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, Inspector General of the Public Health Ministry told reporters, singling out their 25-year-old coach for keeping their spirits high, according to AFP.
The group remain in quarantine in Chiang Rai hospital where one of the last batch of people to leave the cave has "minor pneumonia," he said.
Some of the first boys to be freed have been able to see their parents, he added.
Rescue mission chief Narongsak Osottanakorn thanked people in Thailand and around the world at a news conference on Tuesday for their well wishes and support.
Thai officials were expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday to provide updates on the health of the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach, according to Reuters.
Narongsak told reporters that a detailed breakdown of the escape route and rescue mission would also be provided.f
