MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — All 12 boys and their soccer coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, the Thai navy SEALs said Tuesday, ending an 18-day ordeal that riveted people around the world.The SEALs said on their Facebook page that the remaining four boys and their 25-year-old coach were all brought out safely Tuesday.They said they were waiting for a medic and three SEALs who stayed with the boys in their dark refuge deep inside the cave complex to come out.Eight of the trapped boys had been brought out of the cave by divers on Sunday and Monday.
A helicopter believed to be carrying one of the rescued boys from the flooded cave lands in Chiang Rai as divers continue to evacuate more of the boys and their coach trapped at Tham Luang cave in the Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
The plight of the boys and their coach has riveted Thailand and much of the world — from the heart-sinking news that they were missing to the first flickering video of the huddle of anxious yet smiling boys when they were found 10 days later by a pair of British divers. They were trapped in the cave that became flooded by monsoon rains while they were exploring it after a soccer practice on June 23.
The eight boys brought out by divers over the previous two days were doing well and were in good spirits, a senior health official said.
