First video shows Thai boys in hospital after cave rescue

This handout video grab taken from footage released by The Thai government public relations department (PRD) and Government spokesman bureau on July 11, 2018 shows members of the "Wild Boars" football team being treated at a hospital in Chiang Rai. The 12 boys rescued from a Thai cave were passed "sleeping" on stretchers through the treacherous passageways, a former Thai Navy SEAL told AFP on July 11, giving the first clear details of an astonishing rescue mission that has captivated the world. / AFP PHOTO / Thai government public relations department (PRD) AND Government spokesman bureau / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / The government public relations department (PRD) and Government spokesman bureau " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Video footage emerged Wednesday of several of the Thai boys rescued from a flooded cave recuperating in hospital, as the stunning images of the youngsters being freed from their ordeal on stretchers was also released for the first time.

The video shows several of the “Wild Boars” football team in hospital, after being rescued from the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand in a three-day operation which ended successfully on Tuesday.

Doctors have said they are in good physical and mental health — a view backed up by the footage made available by the Thai government showing them behind quarantine glass in bed wearing smocks and facemasks, flashing peace signs and doing the traditional “wai” greeting.

They do not look shell-shocked or stunned despite a potentially harrowing 18 days inside a dank, dark cave followed by a risky rescue operation that was dubbed “Mission Impossible”.

A former Thai Navy SEAL died while helping install oxygen tanks in preparation for the extraction.

Later Thai Navy SEALs posted clips from the painstaking rescue that was carried out in three phases ending Tuesday.

It showed divers in headlights and scuba-gear carrying out the boys on heavy-duty stretchers.

Experts have warned of possible long-term trauma from their experience in Tham Luang but medical officials have issued a drumbeat of mostly positive news about their condition, saying they are eating normal food and even asking for chocolate.

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