Operation started 10am local time and the soonest any boy will be freed is 9pm local time • Thai cave rescue under way: officials announce mission has begun - live updates 
 
 Eighteen divers have entered a cave in northern Thailand in an attempt to retrieve 12 boys and their football coach who have been stranded in a cave for the past two weeks. The group are stranded on a ledge 4km inside the Tham Luang cave but amid fears of rising waters, officials have decided they cannot wait any longer. Late on Sunday, local reports said the first two members of the group had been brought out to safety. Sense of anticipation 
 
 By Helier Cheung, Tham Luang cave 
 
 This is the moment that everyone has been waiting for - and that some thought would never begin. Rescuers took advantage of a break in the rain to launch the mission much earlier than originally expected. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Child psychiatrist: "It will be a challenge for these children to go back to normal life" 
 
 The group and their families had all given their agreement that they should be moved as soon as possible, said Mr Narongsak. What is happening at the cave? They were found on Monday and the Thai military, aided by international experts, have been working on plans to free them from the cave complex ever since.  Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The boys, aged between 11 and 17, have been trapped with their coach since 23 June 
 
 Rescuers in Thailand have begun a hazardous operation to lead 12 boys and one adult out of a cave where they have been trapped for two weeks. They'll have to do a mixture of walking, wading, climbing and diving - all in complete darkness - along guide ropes already in place. Wearing full-face masks, which are easier for novice divers than traditional respirators, each boy will be accompanied by two divers who will also carry their air supply. The toughest section is about halfway out - they'll reach section called "T-Junction", which is so tight the divers will have to take off their air tanks to get through. Eventually they'll reach Chamber 3, the cavern which has been turned into a forward base for the divers. There the boys can rest before making the last, easier walk out to the entrance. They're expecting to be taken straight to hospital in Chiang Rai town. In an indication of quite how dangerous the journey will be, a former Thai navy diver died in the caves earlier this week. Saman Gunan was returning from a mission to provide the group with air tanks when he ran out of oxygen. He lost consciousness and could not be revived. His colleagues have said they "will not let the sacrifice of our friend go to waste". As one diving expert put it to me, when underwater cave rescues go wrong they go wrong in a big way. Parents of boys trapped in Thai cave tell coach: don't blame yourself Read more 
 
 “Although there are some slightly difficult parts [where] we have to bend or crawl, we can say that we can just walk through it.” 
 
 He would not say whether the boys would need to dive at all in the 1.7km journey from where they are sheltering to the third chamber. Aged between 11 and 17, they belong to a football club called the Wild Boars, and became trapped during an excursion with their coach. It took nine days to find them in the underground network's dark depths. Race against the rain 
 
 Officials had originally thought the group might have to stay where they were until the rainy season ended - and that could have meant months underground. They had also been exploring whether they could drill down into the cave, as well as scouring the mountainside for another way in. Image copyright Reuters Image caption At a church in Chiang Rai, local people spent Sunday morning praying for the trapped boys 
 
 But with the rainy season just beginning, it's become clear that the flooding which originally trapped the boys will only get worse in the coming days. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Thailand cave rescue: Meet the volunteer helpers 
 
 Rescuers have been desperately pumping water out of the cave, and Mr Narongsak said on Sunday that water levels inside were at their lowest levels so far. “Their health and their minds are ready and they all have knowledge of the mission,” Osatanakorn said.
– "There is no other day that we are more ready than today," rescue director Narongsak Osottanakorn said, in announcing that 18 divers had gone in to rescue the Thai soccer team trapped in a cave since late June. "Otherwise we will lose the opportunity." Now, the BBC reports that four boys have emerged from the cave (or six, per Reuters) and been taken to the hospital. The operation has been put on hold for at least 10 hours because "we've used all the oxygen," Narongsak tells the Guardian. "For the next operation to happen, we cannot say. It will be between 10 and 20 hours, but not over 20. But we have to evaluate all the factors. Air tanks must be put back into place." After a deluge of rain overnight, officials feared worsening flooding in coming days would close the window to rescue the boys and their coach. The mission is an ordeal that could easily last into Monday, notes the BBC: Each boy is being accompanied out by two divers, one of which carries his oxygen, through a darkened journey that includes "walking, wading, climbing, and diving." A doctor examined the boys earlier Sunday, notes the Guardian, and gave the greenlight for the rescue. "This is D-Day," said Osottanakorn. "The boys are ready."