Trapped Thai footballers learning to swim, dive
A team of young footballers trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for 11 days on Wednesday began crash courses in swimming and diving to prepare for their rescue.A group of ten soldiers, led by a military doctor, provided food and medicine to the 12 schoolboys, ages 11 to 16, and a 25-year-old assistant coach. The doctor also assessed their health.The latest video released by the Thai Navy shows the visibly thin children inside the cave wrapped in thermal blankets but upbeat, waving their hands and even laughing.Relatives of the trapped boys are "happy and hopeful", and they look forward to reuniting with their loved ones as soon as possible, according to Thai government spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak.The football team was found by rescue divers on Monday night on an island about four kilometers inside the cavern in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province after nine days of intense searching, with more than 1,300 people participating in the rescue mission.According to officials, the 12 boys and their coach went into the cave on June 23 after a football training when a sudden storm began to flood the cavity and cut off their exit.