TheCable

Four boys have been rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand after being trapped in it for more than two weeks.

Twelve boys aged between 11 and 16 years and their coach, 25, were trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai after a football game on June 23.

Flooding cut off their escape and they have been on a rocky shelf inside a cave chamber since.

According to ITV News, the next phase of the operation to bring out the remaining eight boys and their coach would resume in 10 to 20 hours.

Narongsak Osatanakorn, chief of operations, said 13 foreign and five Thai divers are taking part in the operation.

The report said two elite British divers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, were the first rescuers to reach the group on Monday night and are believed to be part of the team.

The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) said seven divers from the UK with are assisting in attempts to rescue the boys.

“The UK divers are part of the core team, so they will be actively involved and that will include escorting each child out through the flooded passage,” a BCRC spokesman said.

“The operation is being supervised by the Thai authorities. They have had to make a quick decision because they are really concerned about the water level rising.”

Saman Kunan, a former Thai navy seal, passed out making a dive on Friday and died.

Authorities said they are “largely in good health.”