Six out of 12 schoolboys rescued out of flooded Thailand cave, reports Reuters

“Six of 12 schoolboys have been rescued so far from a flooded Thai cave after divers launched a daring and dangerous mission to free the children and their soccer coach, who were trapped underground for more than two weeks,” reported Reuters quoting Thai officials.

However, BBC says that the number of boys rescued so far remains four. “At least four boys, said to be in "good health", have come out of the cave system,” reported BBC. AP too reports the number to be four and not six.

According to South China Morning Post, the number of boys rescued is six as per officials. “The rescue is on hold after six Thai boys rescued,” they reported, adding, “ the healthier boys were being taken out first”.

“Local media and military sources earlier said that five boys had exited the cave. Other reports said that a sixth boy was about to emerge or may already have done so,” reported Bangkok Post.

The mission to rescue 12 boys and their football coach began at 8:30 IST on Sunday.

“Rescue efforts have been paused overnight to allow divers to prepare for the next mission. However, the rain that had Thai authorities so worried appears to have arrived,” reported BBC.

“Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand’s elite navy SEAL unit rescued the boys and continue their efforts to rescue others, some as young as 11 and weak swimmers – through narrow, submerged passageways that claimed the life of a former Thai navy diver on Friday,” Reuters reported.

A helicopter flew some of the boys to the nearby city of Chiang Rai where they were taken by ambulance to hospital, according to reports.

As per a Bangkok Post report, “the boys, aged between 11 and 16, went missing with their 25-year-old coach after soccer practice on June 23, setting out on an adventure to explore the cave complex near the border with Myanmar and celebrate a boy’s birthday.”

“Rescuing them all could take three to four days and depended on the weather,” Bangkok post quoted an army commander involved in the mission as saying before the mission commenced on Sunday. But, reportedly, the rescue operation has so far been going better than expected and the rest of the boys are expected to be rescued soon.