Thai Cave Rescue: All 12 Boys And Their Soccer Coach Are Saved After 18-Day Operation

All 12 boys who are members of a Thai youth soccer team, along with their coach, were rescued from a cave in northern Thailand on Tuesday after the group had been trapped there for 18 days.

The dozen boys, along with their 25-year-old coach Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, were taken to a local hospital after being saved.

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Thai Navy SEALs, divers and other rescue workers had rushed to the Tham Luang cave after it became flooded and the Wild Boar soccer team became trapped inside. The team had been there since June 23, and the coach had reportedly taken his squad to the cave on a field trip as a prize for winning a big game.

BREAKING: All 12 boys and their coach from the youth soccer team trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nearly three weeks have now been rescued, according to an eyewitness who is part of the rescue operations https://t.co/am3NCT5I8z pic.twitter.com/wC9S9VdEYi

— CNN (@CNN) July 10, 2018

According to the latest New York Times update, four more people still need to be pulled out of the cave, a group that includes a doctor and Thai military officials.

President Donald Trump tweeted about the successful rescue mission while traveling to Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday morning:

On behalf of the United States, congratulations to the Thai Navy SEALs and all on the successful rescue of the 12 boys and their coach from the treacherous cave in Thailand. Such a beautiful moment – all freed, great job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2018

Former Sgt. Saman Kunan, an ex-Navy SEAL, was one of several people who died on Friday while trying to rescue the boys. Kunan, 38, was reportedly a triathlete who ran out of air while he was underwater in the flooded cave. Four of the boys on the team were saved on Sunday in the first day of the “extraction” phase of the operation.

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Officials had initially said they believed it could be weeks or months before all those trapped inside the cave were rescued. Tesla executive Elon Musk had even suggested a plan to help save the boys and their coach.