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Thai cave rescue: Fifth boy brought out as mission continues
Monday July 9, 2018 - 20:19 EST
A fifth member of the Thai soccer team that is trapped in a cave in the country's north has been brought out.
That leaves seven team members and the coach still inside.
The second day of the underground rescue attempt began at 11:00am local time (2:00pm AEST).
The mission is running ahead of schedule, Thai authorities said.
in a delicate and lengthy operation.
The rescued boys were taken by helicopter to Chiang Rai hospital.
They are reported to be in good condition, but are undergoing medical tests to check their health after they swam through dirty floodwaters to exit the cave.
Health concerns include hypothermia and an airborne lung infection which is caused by bat and bird droppings.
Parents say they haven't been told which boys were taken out of the cave, and have not been allowed to visit them in hospital.
It is understood the same divers who rescued the first four boys were given the job of getting the remaining team members out.
Australians are among about 50 foreign divers involved in the dangerous attempts to get the group to safety.
Each rescue operation takes about 10 hours.
Air tanks were planted along the route earlier on Monday.
Heavy rain soaked the area overnight, but the rain has largely held off today.
Ambulances and helicopters have been on standby to aid the remaining boys and their coach, who have been trapped underground for more than two weeks.
Sunday's rescue mission was described as a success by Thai officials.
"The operation went much better than expected," mission head Narongsak Osottanakorn said yesterday.
"I would like to inform the public at home and those who have been giving us support all along, after 16 days, today's the day we've been waiting for, we are seeing the Wild Boars in the flesh now."
- ABC
© ABC
2018
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