Four Thai boys rescused from flooded cave

The Thai navy told the Associated Press that four of the stranded team members have been brought to safety.

Two ambulances were earlier seen leaving the cave and a helicopter was seen taking off, AP reported.

Officials previously said that helicopters were on standby to take anyone rescued to hospital.

Chief of operations governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said 13 foreign and five Thai divers are taking part in the operation.

The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) confirmed that seven divers from the UK with “expertise in cave diving” are assisting.

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.

A BCRC spokesman said: “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.

“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.”

Two divers will accompany each boy as they are gradually extracted.

The entire operation to get all 13 out of the cave could take days, depending on weather and water conditions, said Thai army Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakam.

A doctor and paramedics are standing by to provide medical attention whenever the rescue team emerges.

Rescuers pumped millions of litres of water out of the cave network to try to extract the group through nearly a mile of tunnels.

Thai officials are not only racing against worsening weather, but also lowered oxygen levels in the underground complex in the north of the country.

Former Thai navy Seal Saman Kunan passed out making the dive on Friday and died.

The boys, aged 11-16, 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.

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

Although weak, they are largely in good health, authorities have said.