All 12 boys and coach rescued from Thai cave

 http://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2018/07/10/eight-boys-rescued-from-thai-cave-in-good-mental-state-official.html




The first eight boys rescued from a Thai cave are in good mental and physical health and are asking for chocolate, officials said Tuesday, although two were on antibiotics after being tested for pneumonia.
"Everyone is in a good mental state," Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, told reporters at Chiang Rai hospital.
"None of the eight boys has fever today," he added in the clearest update yet on the condition of the boys rescued from Tham Luang cave.
The boys, aged 12-16, were the first to be extracted on Sunday and Monday, while the final four and their coach spent a 17th night inside.
Experts had warned of possible long-lasting damage from the ordeal, either through psychological trauma or infections caught in the cave.
Jesada said the group had been given x-rays and blood tests, adding that two presented suspected symptoms of pneumonia but were given antibiotics and were "in a normal state".
He said the group can eat, move about, and talk.
"They (all the boys) will have to stay in the hospital for one week to wait for their results and to see if anything changes," he said.
Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, Inspector General of the Public Health Ministry, said the first four boys taken out on Sunday were eating normal and plain food.
"They're asking for chocolate. We can see that everything is ok as they're eating well," he said.
The boys remain in quarantine but some of their parents have been able to see their children through the glass.
Thailand has been riveted by the dramatic rescue mission to save the "Wild Boars" team after they first got trapped in Tham Luang more than two weeks ago by rising floodwaters.
Rescuers are racing to extract the rest of the squad and their coach as heavy rains pick back up in the northern province, threatening to complicate the last phase of the mission by reflooding the cave.


 http://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2018/07/11/rescued-cave-boys-relatively-strong-doctors.html


The boys rescued from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai are largely in good physical health but may experience some mental problems and need assistance to help them return to normal life, doctors said. 
Dr Tossathep Boonthong, chief of Chiang Rai Provincial Public Health Office, said that as of July 10 morning eight of the 13 teenage footballers who were trapped inside the flooded cave since June 23 were being checked at Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital.
Tossathep said that medical check-ups showed the eight youngsters were in good physical health, but two of them were diagnosed with mild cases of pneumonia.
“Even though most of the rescued footballers’ physical health is relatively strong, they still have to consume only mild food so their digestive system can recover, as they have just been through a long period without food,” he said.
“Moreover, all of them also have to remain inside the quarantine zone at the hospital for seven days to make sure that they do not infect [others] with any diseases from inside the cave before they can go back home.”
The remaining five survivors were rescued from the cave last night. They will go through the same medical process and be quarantined at the hospital for seven days.
Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, who heads the Emerging Infectious Disease Health Science Centre at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, said the reason for the quarantine was to ensure the efficient treatment of the survivors in case they have been infected with unusual or newly emerged diseases and to prevent an outbreak of any possible disease.
“It is very important for all rescued survivors to be quarantined for at least seven days, because their prolonged stays inside the cave, trapped by floodwater, have increased survivors’ risk of being infected by harmful bacteria or viruses from inside the cave, which may cause rare and harmful contagious diseases,” Thiravat said.
“This is because there are many species of cave animals that can transmit diseases to humans. For example, the bat is the natural host for the nipah virus and can spread this dangerous infectious disease to various kinds of mammals, including humans.”
He also said that after the survivors are allowed to return home, their family and medical teams should monitor their health for another week.
Emergency medicine specialist Dr Sorarit Kiatfuengfoo said that the physical health of the survivors is good and except for rehabilitation through diet and exercise, there should be no problem for them to start their normal daily lives again.
However, Dr Ananya Sinrachatanant, a psychiatrist from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the mental health of all survivors remains fragile as they have just survived the traumatic event of being trapped for more than two weeks inside the flooded cave.
Ananya said that every person close to the 13 members of the football team has to support them with encouragement and understanding and ensure their smooth return to normal life.
She suggested that everyone should give them private space with their families after their return and refrain from asking them about what happened while they were stranded in the cave or blame them for their actions.
She asked the media and society to respect the privacy and rights of the survivors and make sure they do not distribute fake news or take part in social bullying.


http://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2018/07/10/all-12-boys-and-coach-rescued-from-thai-cave.html


The final five members of a young football team were rescued from a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday after spending 18 harrowing days trapped deep inside, completing an astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission that captivated the world.

Elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs extracted the final batch of four boys, plus the 25-year-old coach, on Tuesday afternoon via a treacherous escape route that required them to squeeze through narrow, water-filled tunnels.
"All 12 'Wild Boars' and coach have been extracted from the cave," the SEALs said in a Facebook post, referring to the boys by the name of their football team.
"All are safe," they added, signing off with what has become their trademark "Hooyah" that they used to celebrate the successful extractions of the other eight boys over the previous two days.
The boys, aged from 11 to 16, and their coach, ventured into the Tham Luang cave in mountainous northern Thailand on June 23 after football practice and got trapped when heavy rains caused flooding forcing to take shelter on a muddy ledge.
They spent nine days in darkness until two British divers found them, looking gaunt but otherwise offering smiles to the divers and appearing to be in remarkably good spirits.
But the initial euphoria at finding them dissipated as authorities struggled to devise a safe plan to get them out, with the shelf more than four kilometres (2.5 miles) inside the cave and the labyrinth of tunnels leading to them filled with water.
Authorities mulled ideas such as drilling holes into the mountain or waiting months until monsoon rains ended and they could walk out, with the rescue chief at one point dubbing the efforts to save them "Mission Impossible".
With oxygen levels in their chamber falling to dangerous levels and monsoon rains threatening to flood the cave above the ledge where the boys were sheltering, rescuers decided on the least-worst option of having divers escort them out through the tunnels.
The escape route was a challenge for even experienced divers. The boys had no previous diving experience so the rescuers trained them how to use a mask and breathe underwater via an oxygen tank.
One fear had been that they would panic while trying to swim underwater, even with a diver escorting them.
The death of a former Thai Navy SEAL diver who ran out of oxygen in a flooded area of the cave on Friday underscored the dangers of the escape route.
The ups and downs of the rescue bid entranced Thailand and also fixated a global audience, drawing support from celebrities as varied as US President Donald Trump, football star Lionel Messi and tech guru Elon Musk.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was one of the first world leaders to celebrate the success, and pay tribute to the divers who risked their own lives to save the boys.
"Delighted to see the successful rescue of those trapped in the caves in Thailand. The world was watching and will be saluting the bravery of all those involved," May said in a Twitter post.
Health concerns
Now they are out, concerns are set to focus on the physical and mental toll of the ordeal.
Experts warned that drinking contaminated water or otherwise being exposed to bird or bat droppings in the cave could lead to dangerous infections.
They also said counselling would be needed to deal with the psychological trauma of spending so long not knowing whether they were going to survive.
But there were some promising initial signs.
Medical chiefs reported on Tuesday morning that the eight boys rescued on Sunday and Monday were in relatively good mental and physical conditions.
"All eight are in good health, no fever... everyone is in a good mental state," Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, said before all 13 had been rescued.
Nevertheless, the boys would remain in quarantine in hospital until doctors were sure they had not contracted any infections from inside the cave.
Even before the final rescues, tributes began for the boys and their ability to survive the ordeal.
"I cannot understand how cool these small kids are, you know? Thinking about how they've been kept in a small cave for two weeks, they haven't seen their mums," Ivan Karadzic, who runs a diving business in Thailand and has been involved in the rescue mission, told the BBC.
"Incredibly strong kids. Unbelievable almost."