Jake Zweig, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, sat down with Fox & Friends on Sunday to discuss the enormity of the task at hand for the Thai Navy SEALs team and their international coalition currently working to rescue a kids soccer team trapped inside a cave located in Mae Sai, Thailand. "People don't understand how much gear these guys have," Zweig told Fox & Friends. "They’re not just swimming the whole time. They're climbing rocks, they're getting out and walking...There's a whole lot of stages to this mission just like climbing Mount Everest." "In this situation, if you get in trouble under the water, you can't come up to the surface," he said. "That's what poses all the problems." More than two weeks ago the soccer team, comprised of 12 boys ages 11-16, took diving lessons in preparation for cave exploring with their head coach. But, while in the cave on the actual trip, floodwaters came and trapped the group. Rescuers were able to bring food and water to the team as Thailand planned their rescue mission. Today, 4 of the 12 boys have been freed from the cave. But, due to the terrain and size of the cave, the mission could take days. "Today is a D-Day for our operation,” Chiang Rai, Thailand provincial acting Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn said yesterday. "I confirm that we are at war with water and time from the first day up to today," Narongsak added. "Finding the boys doesn't mean we've finished our mission. It is only a small battle we've won, but the war has not ended. The war ends when we win all three battles — the battles to search, rescue and send them home." Today, President Donald J. Trump tweeted the United States is working closely with the coalition to rescue the team.<doc-sep>A former Thai navy SEAL died early Friday morning trying to free a stranded soccer team from a cave in Thailand. Former Sgt. Saman Kunan, who was working as a volunteer alongside rescuers, died between 1 and 2 a.m. Friday local time. SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew said Kunan died placing oxygen canisters underwater along the route to the stranded boys. The Evening Standard notes this is the current method for replenishing air supply in the cave, where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23. Kunan passed out and efforts to resuscitate him failed. A Facebook profile remembering Kunan, 38, shows images of a fit man with an adventurous spirit — bicycling and racing, clad in athletic gear. After retiring as a navy SEAL, Kunan became a triathlete and worked as an airport security officer, according to The Standard. Thai soldiers and police officers paid respected to Kunan, as his coffin was loaded onto a Thai Navy plane at Chiang Rai International Airport in Chiang Rai on Friday. Officials said the diver would be given royally-sponsored funeral rites including a military funeral at the Satthahip Navy Base in Pattaya, and then in his hometown in the northern Thailand province of Roi Et. The navy is also seeking permission to posthumously promote Saman, who was a petty officer first class when he left the unit, Channel News Asia reports. "Despite this, we will continue until we accomplish our mission," Apakorn said. Thai authorities are racing to replenish oxygen in the cave, which is dipping to dangerously low levels because of the large number of rescue workers inside, Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Ossotthanakor said. They are also working to pump out water from the flooded cave, especially as more rain is forecasted for the region. More:Thai navy SEAL commander: 'Limited amount of time' left to rescue trapped soccer team More:An illustrated look at the Thai cave rescue More:Former Rescuer: Thai Cave Rescue Could be Fatal Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets<doc-sep>Sgt. Major Saman Gunan wasn't abiding by any orders when he joined the effort to rescue a boys soccer team trapped in a cave in northern Thailand. The 38-year-old retired Thai Navy SEAL did so by choice. Gunan, who was working as a volunteer, passed out underwater during an overnight mission placing extra air tanks inside the cave, along the route divers use to reach the cavern where the 12 boys and their coach remain stranded and the oxygen in the air is depleting. He couldn't be revived and was confirmed dead early Friday morning, according to Thai officials. Gunan was a former member of the Royal Thai Navy's Underwater Demolition Assault Unit, which is colloquially known as the Thai Navy SEALs. After resigning from the unit, he worked as a patrol officer at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok since 2006. "He was a very capable SEAL and a triathlete who liked adventure sports. Although he resigned from the unit, he still loved and had a good connection with all the SEALs," the Thai Navy SEALs wrote in Thai in a Facebook post Friday, mourning the loss of Gunan. "Even the last part of his life, 1st Petty Officer Saman left us and this world while working with the SEAL brothers who are also trying to go forward and complete the mission as planned." "His determination and good intention will always be in the heart of all SEAL brothers. Today, you get some good rest. We will complete the mission for you." Gunan recorded a video of himself just moments before he boarded a plane to northern Chiang Rai province to join those assisting in the rescue operations at Tham Luang Nang Non, Thailand's longest cave. He says he wants to help "bring the boys back home." "Loaded all my stuff on to the plane. I'm ready to fly to Chiang Rai," Gunan says in Thai on the self-shot video, obtained by the Associated Press. "Supporting the frogmen who are working at Tham Luang in Chiang Rai. I'm from Suvarnabhumi Airport's support team of the company Airports of Thailand Limited. I'm going to help support this mission," he says. "See you at Tham Luang in Chiang Rai. May good luck be on our side to bring the boys back home." Gunan's body was sent back to the naval base in Sattahib district, where the king of Thailand has ordered a funeral to be held with full honors, according to Thai officials. His death marks the first fatality in the massive operation to rescue the group and underscores just how dangerous the voyage is going in and out of the cave, even for those who have experience. "We can no longer wait for all conditions (to be ready) because circumstances are pressuring us," Thai navy SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew said at a press conference Friday. "We originally thought the boys can stay safe inside the cave for quite some time, but circumstances have changed. We have limited amount of time." The boys, between the ages of 11 and 16, hiked into the vast cave complex with their 25-year-old soccer coach after practice on June 23. It's believed that the coach often brought his team to the popular tourist site in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park for fun excursions. As they ventured deeper into the complex, the sky opened up and heavy rain flooded the cave, cutting off their exit route. The group forged ahead before finding a dry, elevated slope where they were stranded in total darkness. When the group never returned from the hike, Thai officials launched an extensive search-and-rescue operation involving more than 1,000 people, including specialists drafted from various nations such as Australia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. On July 2, two British cave divers found all 13 alive in a chamber about 3 miles from the cave's main entrance. Thai-led rescue crews have been working around the clock to drain the flooded passageways and chambers within the vast cave complex leading to the elevated slope where the boys and their coach remain stranded. Rescuers are now working around the clock on a strategy to extract them as safely, and quickly, as possible. Thai officials told reporters Friday that, currently, the main plan is to bring the boys and their coach out the same way they went in. ABC News' Brandon Baur and Robert Zepeda contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The first four boys have been rescued from the cave in Thailand where their soccer team has been trapped for two weeks. The Thai Navy SEALs, who are leading the rescue mission with divers and help from other countries, are posting encouraging messages on their Facebook page. A photo the Thai Navy SEALs posted shows three rescue workers grabbing each other by the arms in a show of unity. The first four boys who have been stuck in a cave in Thailand for two weeks were heroically rescued on Sunday. Before, during, and after the rescue, the Thai Navy SEALs leading the rescue mission kept people updated by posting encouraging messages on their Facebook page. Right before the rescue mission started, the Navy SEALs posted a picture on their Facebook page of three people grabbing each other by the arms. According to the AP, the caption on the photo refers to the name of the boys' soccer team and says "We, the Thai team and the international team, will bring the Wild Boars home." On Sunday night, the Navy SEALS confirmed on their Facebook page that four of the children had been rescued. They posted that "the 4th Wild Boar is out of the cave" and was rescued at 7:47 p.m. local time. A previous post from a few minutes earlier noted that the 3rd boy had been rescued. A post following the rescue of the first four boys combined Thai and English. According to the AP's translation, the post begins by saying "Have sweet dreams everyone. Good night," in Thai. That Thai is followed by, in English, "Hooyah," a morale-boosting word used by the US Navy. According to the Guardian, the mission includes 40 Thai divers and 50 international divers with teams from Australia, the US, the UK, and China aiding in the efforts. A former Thai Navy SEAL died on Friday while placing oxygen tanks in the cave in preparation for the rescue. Officials said the operation would return on Monday to begin rescuing the eight other boys of the Wild Boars soccer team and their 25-year-old coach. Rescuing all 13 members of the soccer team could take days to complete, depending on the rainfall.