Thailand’s cave rescue: all 13 people saved

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Monday, 8 of the 12 boys had already been rescued, and only 4 of them plus the coach were still stuck in the cave. Tuesday, the 5 remaining were saved, concluding this very mediatic event.

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​A young Thai football team and their coach were stuck at the Tham Luang caves, in Thailand, since the 23rd of June. The team was doing a visit but got blocked in one of the caves following heavy rains that flooded part of the exit.

The case got quite a lot of media attention, as well as quite a lot of international help, such as divers from various countries coming to lend their expertise in the rescue operation.

Originally, authorities were unsure on how to save the team, but Sunday, due to the threat of more rain and further flooding, they decided to go ahead and start rescuing them one by one. This proved complex, as the boys didn’t know how to swim or dive. The first day, 4 of them were saved, with 4 more saved the following day, on Monday. Tuesday, the last 4 boys and the coach were successfully saved, concluding the rescue operation.

The team is currently in the hospital, recovering. Due to both the lack of light and the closed environment, doctors will be monitoring their health for around a week, as they immune system is currently very weak.

With the operation now concluded, some of the divers mentioned how all could have gone wrong, with one of the industrial pumps failing a bit after the last person was saved, making the water rise quite fast in the cave. Even if all 13 people were saved, one of the divers lost his life.

Originally, FIFA had offered the boys to come to Russia to watch the World Cup. It turns out they won’t be able to come, and instead, have been invited by Manchester United to come watch a match of this coming season in the UK.  

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