Thai soccer team found alive after 10 days lost in caves

John Bacon | USA TODAY

A Thai youth soccer team and its coach were found alive Monday in a vast, flooded cave complex where they disappeared more than a week ago, and a photo taken by rescuers showed the smiling faces of several survivors.

Video released early Tuesday by the Thai navy showed the boys in their soccer uniforms sitting on a dry area inside the cave above the water as a spotlight, apparently from a rescuer, illuminated their faces.

Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the 13 were in the process of being rescued, but he cautioned that they were not out of danger.

“We found them safe. But the operation isn’t over,” he said in comments broadcast nationwide, referring to the complicated process of extricating them.

It was not immediately clear when the group would be removed from the cave. Narongsak said the rescue was underway and conditions of the players were being evaluated.

Photos sent from the rescue team showed some of the boys smiling for the camera. The smiles fueled optimism for their ecstatic family members awaiting word outside the cave, the Bangkok Post reported.

Thailand cave rescue: See the moment boys were found Rescuers found a Thai youth soccer team alive in a cave after the 12 boys and coach went missing for over a week.

Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, 11, smiled and hugged her family. She said she was excited to cook her son a Thai fried omelet, his favorite food, when he emerges from the labyrinth.

The desperate search drew worldwide attention, and hundreds of rescuers worked around the clock combating heavy rains and flooding that slowed the effort. Massive pumps cleared water out of sections of cave, allowing rescuers to drill deep into a network of tunnels.

More: US rescue team aids desperate search for Thailand soccer team

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The players, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach had been stranded since June 23 in the Tham Luang Nang Non caves in Thailand's rugged, mountainous Chiang Rai province.

"Thai Navy SEALs have found all 13 with signs of life," the governor said. "We will take care of them until they can move."

They were found near the so-called Pattaya Beach, an elevated rock mound used by people when water floods the caves. Earlier Monday, Thai authorities announced searchers had closed to within less than 600 yards of the mound and were widening the narrow, twisting route with drills so they could pass through with their gear.

Last week, the U.S. Pacific Command sent a 30-person rescue team to northern Thailand to aid the desperate search, which began when a mother reported her son had not returned from practice. The soccer team had not been heard from since.

Teams from Britain, China, Australia and other countries joined the effort. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued a statement of thanks to "all international units that have come to assist the Thai authorities in rescuing the youth football team. ... The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and cooperation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery.”

Thai military and first responders led the effort, backed by military helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles and drones equipped with heat detectors.

Families of the missing joined by Buddhist monks conducted a vigil outside the cave entrance, and the team's bikes and soccer gear remained strewn in the area.

Contributing: The Associated Press