Hundreds of local and foreign volunteers help with rescue

Volunteers also deliver and serve free food to all those involved in the massive rescue operation. Many Thais have been moved by the story of the trapped boys and their coach.
For rescue team members needing a break, there are massages and haircuts offered by Thai volunteers at an outpost in the Tham Luang cave area. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
For rescue team members needing a break, there are massages and haircuts offered by Thai volunteers at an outpost in the Tham Luang cave area.
Volunteers also deliver and serve free food to all those involved in the massive rescue operation. Many Thais have been moved by the story of the trapped boys and their coach. PHOTO: REUTERS
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CHIANG RAI • When Ms Rawinmart Luelert learnt two weeks ago that members of a Thai youth football team were trapped in a cave in the country's northern Chiang Rai province, she knew she had to help.

The 30-year-old, who owns a laundry business, headed to the forest park where Tham Luang cave is located, and offered to wash the clothes of members of a multinational team who have been working round the clock in one of the biggest search and rescue operations in Thailand's history.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 08, 2018, with the headline Hundreds of local and foreign volunteers help with rescue. Subscribe