The first of 13 members of a youth soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand have been rescued and at least six boys were evacuated from the cave Sunday, according to Reuters.
The boys were immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation after being trapped underground for nearly two weeks.
The evacuation came several hours after 13 international cave diving experts and five Thai Navy SEALs entered the cave in an attempt to get the boys out one by one as they navigate through flooded and narrow tunnels.
CNN notes: "To reach the boys, divers must navigate a series of dark, flooded tunnels for up to six hours. With the entire round trip taking roughly 11 hours to complete, it could be days before the entire group emerges."
It is estimated that the boys and their coach are 1.24 miles from the mouth of the cave and about 0.6 miles below the surface.
Depending on weather and water conditions, the entire operation to get all 13 members of the team out of the cave could last two to four days, according to army Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam.
The dozen boys between the ages of 11 and 16 are accompanied by their 25-year-old coach. They have been stuck in the cave since June 23 after heavy rains flooded the Tham Luang Nan Non caves in Chiang Rai, a popular tourist attraction in the region. They had been missing for 10 days before they were discovered.
