After eight nights and nine very long days of dimming hopes, the news that 12 teenage boys and their football coach had been safe and well was greeted with joy and astonishment in Thailand, where fears were growing that the children would not be found alive.

The football team, made up of boys aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on 23 June, after monsoon rains trapped them inside the Tham Luang cave network, a 10km stretch of caves in the north of the country.

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Families of the boys had gathered under sheets of plastic tarpaulin outside the cave entrance, sleeping on the floor or in camp chairs, and maintaining their vigil as cave rescue experts from around the world flew in to assist the mission.

But as the days ticked by and the monsoon rains continued to pound down, hopes that the boys would be rescued were looking slim. The cave network remained flooded and treacherous, filling with water as soon as it was pumped out.

Then news broke on Monday night that the team had been located, prompting an explosion of shouts and cries of relief in the makeshift rescue camp set up near the cave entrance. Family members broke down as they looked at the grainy black and white images of their children taken by cave divers.

“Today is the best day,” one mother said, waiting outside the cave in darkness. “I have been waiting for my son for so many days, I thought he had a 50% chance of survival.”

Other mothers said they were already planning welcome home meals to cook for their children; a Thai fried omelette for one, fried rice for another.

“We found our younger brothers are safe,” said the governor of Chiang Rai, Narongsak Osottanakorn, as soldiers, the media and officials pumped their fists in the air and jumped up and down with excitement.

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The Reuters correspondent Panu Wongcha-um told CBC news the “huge story” had gripped the world.

“It is really a time when the entire nation has come together, to give their support, to share their concern, and at the same time their were moments of anxiety and even despair,” said Wongcha-um.

“All that changed overnight. They [the families] were crying with joy, not only the relatives but people around them; officials rescuers, and journalists. I mean this hasn’t been the most easy story to cover ... but all this has changed now, and we hope that the next phase of the rescue operation will be successful.”

Glued to smartphones

In Chaing Rai, the closest major town to the rescue effort, Time magazine reported that locals and tourists alike were glued to their smartphones following news of the rescue, while a BBC correspondent said he became aware of the news after he awoke to shouts of joy from hotel staff, who were toasting the boys miraculous survival in the hotel bar, watching it unfold on TV.

In schools around the country, children reportedly struggled to concentrate on their schoolwork, after holding daily prayers for the lost boys safe return.

On social media, Thais singled out the British volunteer cave divers who located the boys, skinny but composed, perched on a muddy bank a few feet above the water.

Three hashtags to do with the search started trending on Twitter in Thailand: #13ชีวิตรอดแล้ว (the 13 have survived), as well as the name of the cave in both Thai and English: #ThamLuang and #ถํ้าหลวง.

“We found them. We found them. We found them. We found them” wrote one Twitter user.

LovePope (@lovepopeka) We Thailand thank you guys so much for your great efforts. You are our great heroes ‼️❤️ Treasure from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #Tamluang #ThamLuang #13survivors #13ชีวิตต้องปลอดภัย #thamluangcave #thailand #13ชีวิตต้องรอด #13ชีวิตรอดเเล้ว #13ชีวิตติดถ้ำหลวง pic.twitter.com/LKmhNc8yOc

Although news of the boys being found was too late to make the front pages of Thailand’s newspapers, stories of how they were found – and how now they could be rescued – swamped the nation’s media websites, with a number of international papers also choosing to splash with the miraculous discovery.