Thai cave rescue news: football team and coach found ALIVE after being trapped in flooded Tham Luang cave for nine days

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Twelve members of a Thai football team and their coach have been found showing 'signs of life' after being trapped for nine days in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Incredible pictures of the smiling boys were sent via mobile devices by the rescue team including Thailand's Navy SEAL divers as they finally reached them.

The young footballers ventured into the Tham Luang Nang Non cave on Saturday 23 June but were trapped by torrential rain.

Family members were pictured smiling and celebrating in delight as they heard the news that their loved ones had been found.

Thailand Cave Rescue - In pictures

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A major search and rescue operation was launched to drain the cave and rescue the footballers and their coach after they became trapped.

Thailand's provincial governor confirmed the news this afternoon that all 12 boys and their coach had been found alive.

Family members of one of the boys were pictured celebrating
AFP/Getty Images

"Thai Navy seals have found all 13 with signs of life," Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters.

He added: "We found them safe. But the operation isn't over." The next task is to get medical help and food to the boys and extract them from the complex.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha thanked the international experts and rescuers who helped locate the missing for their "tremendous efforts."

"The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and cooperation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery," Mr Prayuth's office said in a statement.

Navy divers and rescue workers entered a narrow passageway early on Monday after passing through a key chamber on Sunday where high, murky waters had previously blocked their progress.

The team took advantage of a brief window of improved weather to press on, according to Mr Narongsak.

He added that the passageway the divers made their way through goes up in some places and down in others and is very narrow, making it difficult for divers to fit through with all their gear.

The rescue operation 
AFP/Getty Images

In the course of their search they were repeatedly blocked by rising water that filled sections of the cave and forced them to withdraw for safety reasons.

When water levels dropped on Sunday, the divers went forward with a more methodical approach, deploying a rope line and extra oxygen supplies along the way

People pray for the footballers to be found alive
REUTERS

The divers had been focusing on an elevated mound inside the cave which cavers have named "Pattaya Beach", which could have provided the boys with a refuge when rains flooded the cave.

"The SEALs reported that ... they reached Pattaya Beach which was flooded. So they went 400 metres further where we found the 13 ... who were safe," Mr Narongsak told the cheering group of reporters

Public hopes for a rescue have been running high since Sunday, but officials avoided setting a timetable.

Thai officials carry oxygen tanks through a cave complex during the rescue operation
EPA

"In theory, human beings can last 30 days (without food)," Mr Narongsak told reporters before the boys were found while the search was still ongoing. "We hope and believe that is the case. We all still have hope."

It remains unclear whether any of the group are injured or in need of medical attention.

Mr Narongsak said medical teams have been sent inside the cave and it would take them around four hours to assess the group's health and how fit they are before coming up with a strategy to get them out.

This story is being updated.

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