Thailand Cave Rescue: Anxious Parents Sleep at Cave Site

Thailand Cave Rescue: Anxious Parents Sleep at Cave Site
Boys from the under-16 soccer team trapped inside Tham Luang cave covered in hypothermia blankets react to the camera in Chiang Rai, Thailand, in this still image taken from a July 3, 2018 video by Thai Navy Seal. (Thai Navy Seal/Handout via Reuters TV)
Jack Phillips
7/8/2018
Updated:
7/8/2018

Parents of the Thai boys trapped in a flooding cave slept at the rescue site, according to reports, as teams prepare to continue their rescue effort in the morning. Officials said that four of the schoolboys were rescued over the weekend.

The mother of one of the boys said she’s sleeping at the cave site as she waits for confirmation that her son was pulled from the cave. Twelve children between the age of 11 and 16 and a soccer coach had been trapped inside for more than two weeks.

Officials have not yet named the boys who were rescued, not even to the parents of the group, according to Namhom Boonpiam, the mother of one of the boys. She’s the mother of Mongkhol Boonpiam, 14, who was named by Thai media as one of the children freed, The Guardian reported.

“I just heard his name, Mongkhol, and I was happy enough,” she said. I believe he will survive,” his mother said.

The four boys were given health checks before they were taken to the hospital, officials said earlier in the day.

Narongsak Osatanakorn, the official in charge of the rescue effort, said Sunday that it was “D-Day,” adding that 13 foreign and five Thai divers were partaking in the rescue. The operation started at 10 a.m., saying that it would take hours for the first person to be rescued, according to The Associated Press.
The other eight boys and the coach have to wait now due to fears of rising waters, the BBC reported. The next phase would start Monday morning after relaying “all of the air tanks and all systems along the way.”

“I confirm that we are at war with water and time from the first day up to today,” he stipulated Saturday. “Finding the boys doesn’t mean we’ve finished our mission. It is only a small battle we’ve won, but the war has not ended. The war ends when we win all three battles—the battles to search, rescue, and send them home.”

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Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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