All 12 boys, football coach rescued from flooded Thailand cave
Bangkok, July 10: All the 12 boys and their football coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand after being trapped for 18 days, bringing an end to the ordeal that prompted a huge international rescue effort.
The coach was one of the last to be extricated from the cave on Tuesday in the rescue operation that began as a local search for the missing but turned into a complex mission, involving hundreds of experts who flew in from around the world to help, CNN reported.
"The 12 Wild Boars (name of their football club) and coach have emerged from the cave and they are safe," the Thai Navy Seal unit said on its official Facebook page. It added: "Hooyah."
The final day of the operation began just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday as the first eight boys, freed in operations on Sunday and Monday, recuperated at a hospital in nearest Chiang Rai city.
The 12 young footballers, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach got trapped on June 23 while exploring the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province after soccer practice and a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnel.
The boys were found inside the cave by British rescue divers a week ago, about 4 km from the cave mouth.
Thirteen foreign cave diving experts and five Thai Navy rescuers joined the first operation on Sunday that brought out four boys from the cave. Rescuers spent about 11 hours on the mission. Another four boys were brought out by the same team on Monday.
The remaining four boys and their coach were rescued on Tuesday and were sent to hospital by helicopters. They underwent X-rays and blood tests and will remain under observation in the hospital for at least seven days.
The news was greeted by global jubilation and the rescue workers were lauded. US President Donald Trump tweeted "great job" and British Prime Minister Theresa May said: "The world was watching and will be saluting the bravery of all those involved."
Overnight, entrepreneur Elon Musk posted on social media that he had personally delivered a child-sized submarine to the site which he had developed to assist with the operation, but it was unlikely to play a role.
In response, Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre coordinating the operation, said: "Although his technology is good and sophisticated, it's not practical for this mission."
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
