Emergency crews in Thailand have reportedly brought another member of a soccer team to safety, weeks after 12 boys and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave network. The Associated Press reports an ambulance was seen leaving the area on Monday.
The apparent rescue comes one day after the first four members of the team were saved, in a complicated and hours-long process that includes the use of multiple divers and a system of air tanks stashed along the escape route.
The boys, ranging in age from 11-16, have been trapped in the cave system since June 23, after heavy rains flooded the network. Authorities say they want to get them out now, with the threat of more rain looming.
"All conditions are still as good as they were yesterday," Chiang Rai acting Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said, as relayed by the AP. "The boys' strength, the plan — today we are ready like before. And we will do it faster because we are afraid of the rain."
A deluge could overwhelm efforts to lower water levels in the caves – more than 32 million gallons of water were pumped out after the boys were found last Monday.
Giving an update on the four boys who were pulled from the cave on Sunday, Narongsak said, "This morning they said they were hungry and wanted to eat khao pad grapao" — a popular Thai rice dish of meat stir-fried with basil and chili peppers.
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