Rescued Thai football team recovering well

The boys are being kept in a glassed-off room in the hospital to ensure that they do not pick up any infections in their weakened state, and while they are described as recovering well, their mental and physical health continues to be monitored close
The boys are being kept in a glassed-off room in the hospital to ensure that they do not pick up any infections in their weakened state, and while they are described as recovering well, their mental and physical health continues to be monitored closely. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

The Thai youth soccer team and their coach are recovering well, doctors said, but will remain in hospital to have their physical and mental health monitored closely.

In the first videos since their rescue after 17 days trapped in a flooded cave, the team waved and made peace signs from their beds as loved ones watched outside the glassed-off room.

Details also emerged about the rescue, with the boys sedated and passed on stretchers along the twisting, narrow passageways, and tributes flowed for the international team of rescuers who never gave up in the quest to save the team.

Among those hailed were the divers from the Thai navy Seals. But the unit's chief, Rear-Admiral Arpakorn Yuukongkaew, downplayed his men's efforts when he spoke to The Straits Times.

"We are not heroes. We just did what we could," he said yesterday.

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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 Rescued Thai football team recovering well. Subscribe