Family members of one of the missing boy celebrate while camping out near Than Luang cave following news all members of children's football team and their coach were alive in the cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province late July 2, 2018. - Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nine days were 'found safe' late July 2, in a miracle rescue after days of painstaking searching by divers.

Thai youth soccer team found alive after being trapped in cave for 9 days

Tom Nightingale
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LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP / Getty

A terrifying story out of Thailand took a miraculous turn.

Rescue teams located an under-16 soccer team in a cave known as Pattaya Beach nine days after the party of 13 went missing, reports CNN's Kocha Olarn and Lauren Said-Moorhouse.

"I confirm they are all safe," Narongsak Osottanakorn, governor of the city of Chiang Rai, told reporters Monday night.

The Wild Boar soccer team, whose players range from ages 11 to 16, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, for a team outing. However, sudden torrential rain trapped the team and its coach and flooded the cave.

CNN reports that authorities were initially alerted to the crisis by a park officer who spotted the boys' bicycles near the entrance to the off-limits cave complex.

An international rescue operation was launched, and Thai Navy SEAL divers finally found the 13 after diving "a further 300 to 400 metres" beyond Pattaya Beach.

It will take some time and careful planning, though, to actually extricate the team from the cave.

"Our mission (is) not done yet," Osottanakorn added. "We will drain all water out from the cave, then we will take all 13 people out of the cave. We are now planning how to send nurse and doctor inside the cave to check their health and movement. We will work all night."

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