'We're coming': Moment British divers reach boys lost in Thai cave for 10 days
Torchlight picks out the 12 frail-looking teenagers sitting on a bank inside the cave before they ask what day of the week it is.
Tuesday 3 July 2018 01:07, UK
The moment British rescuers reached the 12 boys who have been trapped in a Thai cave for 10 days has been captured on video.
One of the unnamed divers reassures the youngsters that "many people are coming" as one of them can be heard asking what day of the week it is.
The man shouts back "Monday" before telling the boys, who are all members of the same youth football team, how long they have been in the cave.
He continues: "You are very strong, very strong."
Torchlight shows the frail-looking youngsters sitting on a muddy bank inside the cave, with water between them and the rescue party.
The identity of the British rescuer who can be heard speaking in the video has not been confirmed, but the British Cave Rescue Council has confirmed that its divers found the boys.
A spokesperson from the council said he is likely to be either Richard William Stanton or John Volanthen.
The teenagers, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old football coach have been trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in Chiang Rai province since 23 June.
The boys were reached after a huge international rescue effort, with the underground cave network having been partially flooded by monsoon rains.
Divers found the group on Monday in a chamber on higher ground, with efforts to get them out now set to begin.
Provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said the boys had been found safe but "the operation isn't over".
He added: "When the medics have evaluated the kids to see if their health is in good condition, we will care for them until they have enough strength to move by themselves, and then we will evaluate the situation on bringing them out again later."
Sky News' Lisa Holland, who is at the scene, said after the teenagers were found: "We have been told by a teacher at a school where half of the boys go to (that) the boys have been found and that they are alive but they are very weak.
"Now the difficulty is getting them out because they are underground within this massive cave complex.
"Things have been complicated because the underground complex is completely flooded due to heavy monsoon rain."
Overjoyed relatives hugged and cheered upon hearing that the boys were alive.
Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, mother of 11-year-old Chian, said: "I'm so happy I can't put it into words."
The teenagers were located as hopes of them being found alive had begun to fade.
Holland said: "I think in truth even the families of the missing boys and their coach would say that this is astonishing news.
"I really think we had reached the stage where people were saying 'look we have to pray for a miracle, we have to hope for a miracle'."