In Focus
Rescuers save soccer team trapped in Thai cave
All 12 boys and their coach have now been freed after a dramatic three-day rescue operation

Rescue teams gather in a deep cave on June 25, 2018, where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing in Chang Rai, northern Thailand.
The group went missing after exploring the cave on June 23. Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days. The only way to reach them was by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents. The rescue claimed its first life when a diver fell unconscious underwater and died.





The missing boys and their soccer coach as they were found in the dark, partially flooded cave on July 2.
After nine long and arduous days, the boys and their coach were found alive in the cave — a godsend for their anxious families and joyous news for a country that had been riveted to televisions and social media, desperate for updates.



July 4
Some members of the team in the cave.
The Thai navy is teaching the boys the basics of diving, with a view to guiding them out through flood waters. However, some of the boys cannot swim and navigating the cave has frustrated even the most expert divers.



July 6
An honor guard holds up a picture of former Thai Navy SEAL diver Samarn Kunan.
Kunan, 38, was working in a volunteer capacity and fell unconscious underwater on a mission to place oxygen canisters along the route to where the boys and their coach are sheltered.

Two ambulances carry the sixth and seventh boys out of the cave.
Related: Eight boys now rescued from flooded Thai cave complex
Onlookers watch and cheer as ambulances transport the 10th rescued schoolboy from a helipad nearby to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital.
Read: Cave rescue operation ends as all trapped Thai boys are freed