How mission impossible became mission possible

Rescue personnel carrying a member of the Wild Boars Thai youth football team on a stretcher during the rescue operation inside the Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Mae Sai district, on July 11, 2018. PHOTO: AFP
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They have been hailed universally as heroes.

Congratulatory messages and tribute video clips began flooding social media platforms on Tuesday night, thanking the rescuers in the complex Thai-led operation that brought to safety 12 young footballers and their coach trapped for more than two weeks in a flooded cave in Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 12, 2018, with the headline How mission impossible became mission possible. Subscribe