Four boys exit Thailand cave; rescue of others paused for at least 10 hours

Four boys have exited a flooded cave in northern Thailand where they have been trapped for more than two weeks, a senior member of rescue operation's medical team said on Sunday.

Authorities in northern Chiang Rai province began the dangerous mission to bring out the 12 boys and their soccer coach earlier on Sunday.

An earlier report suggested6 boys were successfully rescued. However, according to the latest report,only four boys have been rescued so far, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, the operation torescuethe remainingeight boys and their coach has been halted 10 hours to allow oxygen tanks to be refilled, a CNN report said.

A dangerous mission to rescue 12 Thai schoolboys and their coach trapped inside a flooded cave for more than two weeks began on Sunday and authorities said the first survivor may emerge around 11 hours later.

Thirteen foreign divers and five members of Thailand's elite Navy SEAL unit are trying to bring the boys - some as young as 11 and weak swimmers – through narrow, submerged passageways that claimed the life of a former Thai navy diver on Friday.

A team of 12 young Thia footballers, along with their 25-year-old coach, went missing on June 23 and had been trapped for more than two weeks in Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand.

After a gruelling search that entered its ninth day, a team of rescuers in Thailand found twelve boys and their assistant soccer coach alive on Monday. A video released by Thai Navy SEAL on its official Facebook page showed young Thai footballers in a dark cave near a pool of water.

In the video, flickering torchlight revealed boys clad in shorts and red and blue shirts in an underground cave beside an expanse of water, Reuters reported.

The 5-minute-long video shows young footballers in frail condition. They appear thin, petite and sensitive to light.

The football team and the coach received four months' food to sustain them until they are brought back to safety.