text: Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Finding the Thai cave boys and getting them out 
   
   Rescuers will take no risks in freeing the 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, an official said. 
   
   They have received their first food and medical treatment in 10 days. 
   
   Seven divers, including a doctor and a nurse, joined the group inside the caves in the north of the country after they were discovered alive on Monday. 
   
   Rescuers are now considering how best to bring the group to safety. 
   
   "We will not rush to take the lads out of the cave," the governor of Chiang Rai, Narongsak Osoththanakorn, told reporters, adding: "Whoever has zero risk first can leave the cave first." 
   
   More heavy rain could see water levels rise and threaten the air pocket where the group has taken refuge. 
   
   The boys were found nine days after they entered the caves in Chiang Rai province following a football training session and became trapped by rising waters from heavy rainfall. 
   
   On Tuesday, Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment, and keeping the boys entertained, adding that none of those trapped were in a serious condition. 
   
   "They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor," Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai navy's special forces, told reporters. 
   
   Why can't they swim out? 
   
   It is believed that most of the group cannot swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue. 
   
   Earlier, the Thai military said the boys would need to learn to dive - or wait up to four months for flooding to recede before they could get out of the caves, meaning food would need to be supplied for that time. 
   
   Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda later stressed the urgency of the evacuation, adding that rain was forecast "in the next few days", the Bangkok Post reported. 
   
   Attempts are being made to reduce the risk of further flooding of the caves by pumping water from the underground system, Mr Anupong said. 
   
   A phone line is also being installed so the boys can talk to their families. 
   
   The governor said that requests had been made to build "infrastructure" in the cave leading to the pocket where the teenagers and their coach are located. 
   
   The Thai authorities have appealed for donations of full-face scuba diving masks small enough to fit the boys in order to reduce the risk of their breathing apparatus coming loose as they travel through flooded passageways. 
   
   How were they found? 
   
   Two British rescuer divers who had flown over to join the search operation found the boys on Monday night. 
   
   The video of that first contact was posted on Facebook by Thai navy special forces. 
   
   The boys are seen by torchlight sitting on a ledge above water, responding to the divers that all 13 were there and that they were very hungry. 
   
   Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Whitehouse of the British Cave Rescue Council has been in touch with the divers 
   
   They ask how long they have been underground and whether they can leave now. The divers tell them they have to wait, but say people will come back for them. 
   
   One boy replies: "Oh. See you tomorrow." 
   
   The search for the group had gripped the nation as it was unclear where they were or whether they were even still alive. 
   
   Families of the missing group were ecstatic at news of their discovery. 
   
   Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said of the boys' discovery that "everybody is a hero". 
   
   "Thank you all Thais, thank you all foreigners," he said. 
   
   How did they get there? 
   
   The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on 23 June. It is believed they entered the cave when it was dry and sudden heavy rains blocked the exit. 
   
   They were found on a rock shelf about 4km (2.5 miles) from the mouth of the cave. 
   
   It is thought the boys could move through parts of the cave in dry conditions but rushing waters clogged the narrow passages with mud and debris, blocking visibility and access. 
   
   Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Families of the boys have been celebrating after finding out their loved ones are alive 
   
   One of the toughest stretches for the divers came as they neared the so-called Pattaya Beach - an elevated mound in the cave complex - where it was hoped the boys had sought refuge. 
   
   Divers had to navigate a series of sharp, narrow bends in near-darkness. They completed the difficult journey to find Pattaya Beach flooded, so swam on and found the boys about 400m away. 
   
   How can they get out? 
   
   Bringing the trapped boys to safety is an extremely dangerous task given the conditions inside. 
   
   The Tham Luang cave complex is regularly flooded during the rainy season which lasts until September or October. 
   
   Image copyright Facebook/ekatol Image caption A Facebook photo shows the coach with some of the missing children 
   
   Experts have cautioned that taking inexperienced divers through the dangerous corridors of muddy, zero-visibility waters would be very risky. 
   
   Diver Ben Reymenants, who is assisting with the rescue mission, told the BBC that two Thai navy doctors had volunteered to stay with the boys for "up to four months" until the water receded. 
   
   Other teams are still scouring the mountainside in the hope of finding another way into the cave. 
   
   Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Diver Ben Reymenants is assisting with the rescue mission and says none of the boys can swim 
   
   Who are they? 
   
   The 12 boys are all members of a local football team and their coach is known to have taken them on occasional excursions and field trips. 
   
   Tinnakorn Boonpiem, whose 12-year-old son Mongkol is among the 13, told Agence France-Presse she was "so glad" to hear they were safe. 
   
   "I want him to be physically and mentally fit," she said. 
   
   "I'm so happy I can't put it into words," another relative of one of the group told reporters as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. ||||| Family members of the 12 boys and their soccer coach react after they were found alive, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. Rescuers found all 12 boys and their... (Associated Press) 
   
   Family members of the 12 boys and their soccer coach react after they were found alive, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. Rescuers found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive deep inside a partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday, more than... (Associated Press) 
   
   MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — The Latest on the search for 12 boys and their soccer coach in a cave in northern Thailand (all times local): 
   
   9:25 a.m. 
   
   Thai authorities say they are committed to "100 percent safety" when they consider how to extract a youth soccer team from the partially flooded cave where they were found on the 10th day of a desperate search. 
   
   Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Tuesday morning that a navy SEAL team will make the final call on the evacuation method. He said one method being considered is for the group to be coached to swim using special breathing masks. 
   
   He said other efforts will continue, such as draining water from the cave and exploring the mountainside for shafts and other entrances to the caverns below. 
   
   Experts have said the safest option could be to supply the 12 boys and their coach where they are and wait for the water levels to drop. 
   
   ___ 
   
   8:30 a.m. 
   
   A Thai provincial governor says the 13 people who had been missing for more than a week have all had an "informal" medical evaluation inside the cave and most are in stable condition and none are in critical condition. 
   
   Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Tuesday morning that they used a field assessment in which red is critical condition, yellow is serious condition and green is stable condition. 
   
   He said: "We found that most of the boys are in green condition. Maybe some of the boys have injuries or light injuries and would be categorized as yellow condition. But no one is in red condition." 
   
   The 12 boys and their soccer coach were found late Monday still in the cave and it is not known when they will be able to leave due to flooding and other factors. 
   
   ___ 
   
   11:50 p.m. 
   
   A leading American cave rescue expert says many challenges are ahead for rescue divers in Thailand who located the 12 boys and their soccer coach who had been missing in a cave for more than a week. 
   
   Anmar Mirza, the U.S. National Cave Rescue Commission coordinator, says the primary decision is now one of whether to try to evacuate them or to supply them in place. 
   
   He says "supplying them on site may face challenges depending on how difficult the dives are. Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy." 
   
   He says that "if the dives are difficult then supply will be difficult, but the risk of trying to dive them out is also exponentially greater." 
   
   Rescuers located the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach alive deep inside the partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the cave on June 23. 
   
   ___ 
   
   11:40 p.m. 
   
   Thailand's prime minister has thanked international experts and rescuers who helped find the 12 boys and their soccer coach who had been missing in a cave for more than a week. 
   
   The Prime Minister's Office says Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha "wishes to thank the tremendous efforts of all international units that have come to assist the Thai authorities in rescuing the youth football team that was stuck in the caves in Chiang Rai. The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and cooperation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery." 
   
   Rescuers located the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach alive deep inside the partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the cave on June 23. 
   
   ___ 
   
   11 p.m. 
   
   A Thai provincial governor says all 12 boys and their coach have been found alive in the cave where they went missing over a week ago in northern Thailand. 
   
   Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said late Monday that the 13 were being rescued. 
   
   He said, "We found them safe. But the operation isn't over." 
   
   The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province on June 23.
target: – The discovery of 12 Thai boys and their coach still alive after 10 days trapped in a flooded cave has brought massive relief to their families and an anxious nation—but the military warns that their ordeal could be only just beginning. The group, discovered by two British divers late Monday, are on a dry rock ledge around 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave, and the Thai military says it could be months before it can get them out, unless the boys learn to dive, the BBC reports. The cave in northern Thailand often remains flooded until the end of the rainy season in September or October, meaning the youth soccer team and their coach may need to have food and other supplies sent in for the next four months. Experts warn that it could be very difficult to get the boys, ages 11 to 16, to safety through miles of dark, narrow, flooded tunnels. "Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy," US National Cave Rescue Commission coordinator Anmar Mirza tells the AP. Thai officials say they're committed to "100% safety" and will continue to explore their options, including draining water from the cave system and searching for shafts that could provide an alternative escape route. Officials say the boys are hungry and weak but in stable medical condition with only minor injuries. They have been provided with high-protein liquid food and will be given more supplies and visited by doctors in the days to come.