09:04 The 12 players and coach of the Wild Boars football team dramatically rescued from a Thai cave last week have spoken publicly about their ordeal for the first time at a press conference beamed around the world. A packed crowd greeted the youngsters after they were discharged from hospital in Chiang Rai, and watched as they played with footballs on a small makeshift pitch before taking their seats. “It is a miracle,” Wild Boars footballer Adul Sam-on, 14, said of the rescue, as the boys were gently quizzed about their terrifying experience. That’s it for now. Here’s a full write-up:<doc-sep>When asked what their dreams are, many of the boys said they want to be professional soccer players and navy SEALs. Chanthawong said rescuers decided who to extract first by taking volunteers. The boys said they wanted to tell their parents that they are sorry. Wild Boars Coach says every one of the boys will be ordained as novices in the Buddhist religion. pic.twitter.com/7Ye2rdL1ZA — Joe O'Brien (@JoeABCNews) July 18, 2018 Update 8:05 a.m. EDT July 18: The boys said they were saddened to learn that Thai navy SEAL Saman Kunan had died. Assistant coach Ekapol "Ake" Chanthawong said they felt "guilty." At the news conference, the boys paid tribute to Kunan with personal messages, thanking him for his sacrifice. Thai Cave Boys paying tribute now to the Thai Navy Seal who died in the rescue effort. Media conf live on ⁦@abcnews⁩ pic.twitter.com/ytjosapUIq — Joe O'Brien (@JoeABCNews) July 18, 2018 Update 7:58 a.m. EDT July 18: The boys described the moment the divers arrived. One boy, who had a torch, walked up to a diver and said "hello," they said. The boys told the divers they were doing fine, to which a diver replied in English, "Brilliant." Assistant coach Ekapol "Ake" Chanthawong said he asked a boy to translate. The boys told rescuers that they had been trapped inside the cave for 10 days. The boys said they all can swim, contradicting early media reports. Chanthawong said the boys wanted to go into the cave and had not been inside before, the Guardian reported. Water started to pour and they began to head back to the entrance, then realized they were trapped. At first, the team attempted to dig out of the cave, drank water from the cave’s walls and had no food, Chanthawong and the boys said. Thai Cave Boys media conference .. coach says they took turns digging a hole to try to lower the water level .. one of the boys says the hole was 3-4 metres wide. At one stage they noticed the water rising .. geeez .. media conf on @abcnews now. — Joe O'Brien (@JoeABCNews) July 18, 2018 Update 7:24 a.m. EDT July 18: The coach, all 12 boys and three Thai navy SEALs are introducing themselves to the media. Before the boys started speaking, a health official said the boys have regained their strength and are doing well mentally, according to the Guardian. Update 7:08 a.m. EDT July 18: The members of the Wild Boars soccer team have arrived at Chiang Rai's provincial hall for the press conference.<doc-sep>An ambulance leaves the Tham Luang cave area after divers evacuated some of the 12 boys and their coach trapped at the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 8, 2018. - Elite divers on July 8 began the extremely dangerous operation to extract 12 boys and their football coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, as looming monsoon rains threatened the rescue effort. (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) / (Photo credit should read LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images) 12 boys and their coach all out of Thai cave Some of the boys who were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand outside a hospital in Chiang Rai after being discharged. CHIANG RAI, THAILAND - JULY 18: Twelve boys and their coach from the "Wild Boars" soccer team arrive for a press conference for the first time since they were rescued from a cave in northern Thailand last week, on July 18, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were discharged early from Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital after a speedy recovery and thanked those involved in their rescue. (Photo by Linh Pham/Getty Images) (CNN) — Members of the “Wild Boars” Thai youth soccer team and their coach have described their rescue from a flooded cave as a miracle, thanked the experts who saved them and discussed how the experience will affect the rest of their lives. In their first public remarks since emerging from their two-week ordeal last week, the boys recounted their side of an extraordinary story that captured the imagination of the world. Dressed in matching Wild Boars team shirts, the boys and their coach appeared happy and relaxed as they faced the world’s media after being discharged from Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital on Wednesday. Adun Sam-On, a 14-year-old who became famous after responding in English to the first British diver to reach the group, spoke of his shock on realizing they had been discovered. All he could think to say was, “Hello!” “I thought this was really a miracle. I didn’t know how to respond,” Adun said. The youngest, 11-year-old Chanin “Titan” Wibrunrungrueang, described the hunger the boys experienced in the days before they were found. “I tried not to think about food because it would make me hungry,” Titan said. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images Members of the Wild Boars soccer team at the press conference. The press conference was carefully arranged in order to minimize any trauma for the boys. Medical staff sat among them, and questions were pre-screened. Over the course of 90 minutes, the boys told of the moment they realized they were trapped, how they adapted to their surroundings and their eventual joy at being found, ten days later. Why go in? Until Wednesday, the question of why the boys and their coach had decided to go into the Tham Luang cave on June 23 has been a point of speculation. It had been suggested the boys had been engaged in an initiation rite, or had been celebrating a team-member’s birthday. In fact, 25-year-old coach Ekapol Chantawong explained, the boys were merely curious to look inside as some of them had never visited it before. The coach, whose nickname is Ake, said it was not unusual for the group to participate in group activities after soccer practice on Saturday afternoons. They explored the underground tunnels for about an hour, before deciding to turn back. But by this time the cave had become partially flooded and their exit was blocked. “Someone said are we lost?” said Ake. At his point, the realization dawned that they were trapped. With the entrance flooded and no obvious way out, the group retreated further into the cave to find somewhere to to rest for the night. “We moved further in for about 200 meters,” Ake said. “There we found a bit of slope and there was a small water source inside the cave.” Ake knew that the water dripping from the roof of the cave would be purer than the dirty floodwater on the floor. “I told them it’s better to be near a water source,” Ake said. “Before we slept, I told them, ‘Let’s say a prayer.’ So we said a prayer that night.” The team were not scared, Ake told the enraptured audience, explaining that he hoped the water level would drop the next day, and that help would arrive. Waters rising The waters did not subside, however. Instead, Ake described the moment, some days later, that he heard the sound of flowing water – and saw the levels rising fast. In response, he ordered the group to find higher ground. Concerned that they might soon be submerged, he instructed the boys to start digging and look for a potential exit. Having eaten after soccer practice, the boys had no food during their ordeal. Instead, they filled themselves with water from the cave. “Mostly we drank water dripping from the rock, from higher up,” said 16-year-old Pornchai “Tee” Kamluang. “It tasted like normal drinking water but no food.” Titan, the 11-year-old, pined for his favorite dishes. “I was thinking about fried rice. Or some chill dip.” The boys tried to keep each other’s spirits up. “I told them, ‘don’t lose hope,’” one team member said. “I was scared that I couldn’t go home and my mum would complain a lot,” another added, to laughter. As the days wore on, the weaker the boys became. “I tried to fill my stomach with water,” Titan said. Linh Pham/Getty Images Coach Ekkapol Chantawong, left, pays tribute to Saman Kunan, the Thai Navy SEAL who died during the resuce attempt. The moment they were found Adun, the 14-year-old, described the moment, ten days into their ordeal, when two British cave divers, John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, emerged from the waters below their perch. Adun, like other members of the group, was busy digging – looking for a possible way out – when some of the boys thought they heard the sound of people talking. Coach Ake told the group to stay quiet. He asked one of the boys to move closer to the ledge and shine a flashlight on the water, but the boy, Panumas “Mig” Sangdee, 13, was too scared, said Adun, who volunteered instead. Adun said he was shocked to hear the divers speak in English – at first he expected the rescuers to be Thai. Linh Pham/Getty Images The Wild Boars were smiling and relaxed when they arrived at the press conference. The boys described how they formed a bond with the Thai Navy SEALs who remained with them in the cave while rescuers worked out a plan to free them. Titan described how they played checkers – and that one of the Navy SEALs sitting alongside them at the press conference always won. “He was king of the cave,” Titan said. When the decision was made to extract the boys through the floodwaters, coach Ake joked he and the boys made the decision on who should go first based on who lived the furthest away. Ake thought the rescued kids would go straight home and those who got out first could spread the word, not realizing the global media had descended on the cave. Sakchai Lalit/AP Relatives of Duangpetch Promthep, one of the rescued boys, watch the press conference live on television. Lessons learned When asked about the lessons they’ve learned from the incident, Ake said he was going to live life more carefully. Ardun said though people can’t predict the future, the experience had taught him about the consequences of acting carelessly. Other boys said though they still dreamed of becoming soccer players, some said they now wanted to become Navy SEALs. Many of the boys apologized to their parents for not telling them they went to the cave. Now that the boys’ ordeal is over, there are concerns over their long-term psychological health. “We don’t know what wounds the kids are carrying in their hearts,” said Tawatchai Thaikaew, an official at the Thai justice ministry.<doc-sep>
A week after all 12 members of the youth soccer team and their adult coach were safely rescued from the flooded Thailand cave, the group appeared at a press conference Thai Soccer Team Trapped in Cave for Weeks Lived Off Water, Didn't Think Rescue Diver Was 'Real' A week after all 12 members of the youth soccer team and their adult coach were safely rescued from the flooded Thailand cave, the group appeared at a press conference to give their firsthand account of the saga that captivated the world. The Wild Boars soccer team — ranging in age from 11 to 16 — had been exploring the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in northern Thailand with their 25-year-old coach on June 23 when heavy rains and rising floodwaters blocked their path, leaving the group unable to get out. All were finally rescued on July 10, after 18 days trapped underground. They then spent a week quarantined in a Chiang Rai hospital, being treated for scratches, fever, and signs of hypothermia. On Wednesday, they were given their full freedom, reuniting with their families before heading to a conference center decorated, fittingly, as a soccer field. Doctors, social workers and psychologists — who said the boys and their coach were all recovering well — joined the group alongside the three Navy SEALs who lead the rescue, all to help filter questions, according to multiple outlets. Press conference of 13 members of child soccer team after rescued from Tham Luang cave, Chiang Rai, Thailand - 18 Jul 2018 Credit: PONGMANAT TASIRI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock There, it was revealed the trapped boys and their coach — all wearing their uniforms at the press conference — survived by licking a trickle of fresh water dripping off a rock in the cave, CBS News reported. They said they had no food when they went off to explore the cave. One player admitted that, according to CBS News, “After two days we started to feel weak.” Another added that he “tried not to think about food” and meditated instead, while one said that he kept his stomach filled with water to compensate, according to CBS News. Cave Search, Mae Sai, Thailand - 03 Jul 2018 Credit: Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock After days spent trying to find a way out, even digging for paths themselves, the boys were finally discovered by a British diver. “We didn’t think it was real,” said one of the team members according to CBS News, explaining that they couldn’t see him in the dark and only heard his voice (they had one flashlight with them that they were using “economically”). Only one of the boys among the group spoke English, according to multiple outlets. He simply told the diver “Hello” with confusion. “I didn’t know what to say to him so I just said ‘hello,’ ” he explained. “I was shocked. … My brain was very slow, as we had been in the cave for 10 days.” Asked by the diver if he was okay, the player said he was. “Hungry, hungry,” he recalled saying. He continued that “his heart was filled with hope.” “I thought, ‘This really miracle,’ ” he said, CNN translated. All of the boys introduced themselves one by one at Wednesday’s press conference, thanking viewers for their support and all who had helped rescue them, ABC News reported. Doctors said they had lost an average of 9 lbs. while in the cave, and had already gained approximately 6 lbs. back. They boys apologized to their parents for going to the cave in the first place, ABC News reported. There was also a tribute to the Thai Navy SEAL diver who died in their rescue operation. “Thank you very much for your sacrifice,” one reportedly said. Cave Search, Mae Sai, Thailand - 03 Jul 2018 Credit: Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock Thousands of Navy SEAL divers, police, soldiers, border guards and officials were brought in to help with the around-the-clock rescue efforts, including pararescue and survival specialists from the U.S. Pacific Command, the AFP had previously reported.