2nd Group Of 4 Boys Is Rescued From Thai Cave After Long Ordeal

Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover a stretcher as it is carried to a helicopter from an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on Monday, as rescue operations continue for those still trapped inside the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district.

Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP/Getty Images

Emergency crews in Thailand brought a second group of four boys to safety on Monday, more than two weeks after 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped in a flooded cave network. Pairs of divers shepherded the boys on the long and painstaking journey out of the cave, navigating muddy and silty water through tight passages.

A total of eight boys have now been taken out of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave, according to the Thai navy SEAL group, which has a leading role in the rescue operation. The Associated Press reports that four ambulances were seen leaving the area near the cave entrance on Monday, with patients taken to waiting helicopters.

Teams of divers will attempt to get the remaining five people – four boys and their 25-year-old coach – out of the cave system on Tuesday, multiple local media outlets report.