05:01

Michael Safi was at the press conference that has just concluded and has this full report about what was said there.

Eighteen divers have entered a northern Thailand cave on Sunday morning to retrieve 12 boys and their football coach who have been stranded in a cave for more than two weeks.

The rescue operation commenced around 10am local time and the soonest any boy will be freed is 9pm, said Narongsak Osatanakorn, former governor of Chiang Rai province, who is heading up the rescue operation.

They will be removed one-by-one and the operation could continue until at least tomorrow.

The team includes 13 international divers and five Thai navy Seals. “We can say they are all international all stars involved in this diving operation and we selected five of our best who can work with them,” Osatanakorn said.

The boys and their families had been informed. “Their health and their minds are ready and they all have knowledge of the mission,” he said. “They’re ready to go out.”

He said the 1.5km path from the cave entrance to the “third chamber” that has been a staging ground for the operation was not completely dry but mostly walkable. “Yesterday the water levels were the lowest they had been,” Osatanakorn said.

He would not say whether the boys would need to dive at all in the 1.7km journey from where they are sheltering to the third chamber.