THE
Thailand cave rescue operation has seen more boys brought out on a stretcher as efforts resume to retrieve the remaining children.
Witnesses saw a person - revealed to be the fifth child saved - being carried out from the cave at about 10.30am BST (4.30pm local time).
Two hours later, three more children were carried out on stretchers bringing the total rescued to eight. There are four boys left inside the cave, as well as their coach.
The first four boys, rescued yesterday, are in good health and demanding fried rice in hospital, the head of the rescue team said.
An operation to rescue the '
Wild Boars' football team and their soccer coach resumed on Monday, with a race against time before more heavy rain waters make the conditions more dangerous.
Footage shown on Thai TV stations showed the ambulance carrying the fifth boy away from the site and towards a helicopter. The aircraft then flew to a hospital at Chiang Rai - where the other boys are already being treated.
Thai volunteers were seen cheering the ambulance.
Four members of the Wild Boars team remain inside the Tham Luang cave.
Doctors told the team of Thai and international divers the weakest boys must be brought out first, reversing a previous policy which said the strongest would be saved first.
The rescue mission was stood down at nightfall to allow officials to replenish oxygen supplies, and has again stood down tonight to begin again tomorrow.
Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand's elite navy SEAL unit guided the boys to safety through narrow, submerged passageways that claimed the life of a former Thai navy diver on Friday.
Divers need at least 10 hours to complete the next stage of the operation today. There are 90 divers helping the rescue, including seven Britons. A total of 50 are from foreign coutries.
The head of the rescue operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said of those recovered already: "The four children are fine. The children complained that they were hungry and wanted holy basil stir-fried rice."
The rescued boys appear “tired but healthy” an official said.
Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda also said the boys were in good health. He did not give further details.
Officials have yet to confirm the identities of the four boys freed. Narongsak on Monday said their identities were being protected out of respect for the families of those still trapped inside the cave.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is due to visit the site of the Thum Luang cave this afternoon to meet parents and relatives of the football team.
Meanwhile volunteers are testing alternative rescue plans in case the dive mission fails.
Pairojana Toontong is testing whether an inflatable nylon-canvas tube is strong enough to cope with the sharp rocks inside the winding subterranean passages of the Than Luang caves.
His daighter Sthpanik said: “We are only a plan C or a plan D.
“We hope that our plan will not be required."
The four boys, rescued on Sunday, were flown by helicopter from the Tham Luang cave to the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital, located at the heart of Chiang Rai province, about 70 km (40 miles) away.
Bursts of heavy monsoon rain soaked the Tham Luang Cave area in northern Chiang Rai province on Sunday and storms were expected in coming weeks, increasing the risks in what has been called a "war with water and time" to save the team.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, went missing with their 25-year-old coach after soccer practice on June 23, setting out on an adventure to explore the cave complex near the border with Myanmar and celebrate a boy's birthday.
The team had earlier arrived at the cave to explore in good conditions on June 23. However, monsson rains soon saw them trapped.
Mr Osottanakorn told a news conference yesterday: "Today is D-Day.
“I hope in a few hours we will have good news.
“The equipment is ready. The boys are ready.”
The rescue teams had rehearsed the plan for several days and had managed to drain the cave water level considerably, but needed to move fast, he said.
He added: "Today was the best day, the best situation in terms of the weather, the health of the boys, our water management for our rescue effort.
"Today we managed to rescue and send back four children to Chiang Rai Prachanukrua Hospital safely."
This morning, Chill, a member of the Wild Boars team who did not enter the cave, told media his hopes for his teammates.
Experts say the whole operation to rescue the team could take between two and four days - dependent on weather conditions.
Former Thai navy Seal Saman Kunan passed out making the dive on Friday and died.
British Cave Rescue Council officials confirmed seven divers from the UK are helping in the rescue of the team.
Officials last week said they would bring the fittest people in the group out first, but Narongsak later said that whoever was ready first would be escorted out.
A source involved in the rescue mission who saw two of the four boys walk out of the cave told Reuters that they looked tired but healthy, adding that one even looked "vivacious and fresh". He did not give further details.
"Imagine marathon runners. It's like when they reach the finish line exhausted," said the source.
At the hospital in Chiang Rai, green canvas sheets had been put up to block the entrance from view.
Ambulances were on standby to receive the next batch of boys who are expected to be plucked from the cave.