A general view shows helicopters expected to transport the schoolboys and their soccer coach who are trapped inside a flooded cave, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 8, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The first two members of a Thai schoolboy soccer team have been rescued from the flooded cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks, a local rescue official said on Sunday.

Authorities in northern Chiang Rai province began the dangerous mission to bring out the 12 boys and their coach earlier on Sunday.

“Two kids are out. They are currently at the field hospital near the cave,” said Tossathep Boonthong, chief of Chiang Rai’s health department and part of the rescue team.

“We are giving them a physical examination. They have not been moved to Chiang Rai hospital yet,” Tossathep told Reuters.