Football team trapped in cave found 9 days after, military weighs options

Relief has come the way of family and loved ones of a Thailand football team who were trapped in a cave in the northern part of the country nine days after they went missing.

Reports say the team comprising 12 boys and their football coach were found weakened but safe deep inside the cave with reports revealing that food and medical help has reached the victims.

According to Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, most of the team were found to be in stable condition while some of the boys had sustained injuries or light injuries.

A British team of divers were the first to reach them on Monday evening at about 10:00pm (15:00 GMT).

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“How many are you? Thirteen? Brilliant,” a diver is heard saying in video footage that shows the moment the boys, pale and thin, were found perched on a ledge inside the cave complex.

“We are hungry … Shall we go outside?” one of the boys replies to the rescuers in the video.

“Not today,” the rescuers are heard saying. “Many people are coming. We are the first.”

“You’ve been here 10 days. You’re very strong,” they said.

Reports say when news that the boys aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach had been found, it sparked jubilation across Thailand.

However, the boys are still trapped in the cave as they await the reduction of the water level after flooding occasioned by heavy monsoon rains in the Chiang Rai province.

The Thai military on Tuesday said they would provide the team with four months’ worth of food and give them diving lessons while continuing to drain the Tham Luang cave complex.

 

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