Some of the trapped boys are stateless, reports say.

Three of the boys, as well as their coach, who were trapped in a Thai cave, are refugees, according to reports.

Adul Sam-on, 14, coach Ekapol "Ake" Chantawong, and two others were stateless ethnic minorities, reported the New York Times.

Born in Myanmar, Adul and his parents crossed over into Thailand with him eight years ago, the paper reported.

AP Coach Ekapol Chantawong (right), who has been labelled the "real hero" of Thailand cave saga, in a photo with his grandmother.

Ekapol was an orphan who lost his parents at age 10, friends said.

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He then trained to be a monk but left the monastery to care for his ailing grandmother in Mae Sai in northern Thailand.

There, he split his time between a working as a temple hand at a monastery and training the then newly-established Moo Pa - Wild Boars - team.

He found kindred spirits in the boys, many of whom had grown up poor or were stateless ethnic minorities, common in this border area between Myanmar and Thailand.

Up to 400,000 people were stateless in Thailand, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

More soon.

- Stuff with Washington Post