“Frankly, having covered many disasters myself –tsunamis, earthquakes – after a certain window, it is very unlikely that people are found alive,” said Tony Cheng, CGTN’s correspondent who covered this story.

An 18-day saga that started when a young football team entered a cave in northern Thailand on June 23, and then was trapped by rising flood waters, finally ended on Tuesday after the last four boys and their coach were extracted by elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs. 

“When you look at these caves, the complexity of the dives, and trying to get 13 young boys out, it’s an incredibly difficult situation. They couldn’t dive. Most of them couldn’t even swim. The fact that they are now behind me at the top of this hospital on the top floor is quite astonishing,” Cheng explained.

The astonishing story gripped Thailand and the world after the group was discovered alive by two British cave divers on July 2, nine days after disappearing while exploring the Tham Luang cave system. The team had survived underground by drinking water dripping down the cave walls. 

“The first challenge they faced of course was the fact of the sheer scale of this operation. We had never had a cave rescue that involved this many people for this long of a time period. And the fact that there are only a few cave divers in the world who have the level of skill, qualification, and experience needed to perform this rescue – they had to bring in divers from all over. That international cooperation really made this operation,” said Anmar Mirza, the coordinator of the US National Cave Rescue Commission.

A team of 11 Chinese rescuers arrived at the scene early in the international response. Cheng said their skills, expertise, and also much needed equipment efforts contributed significantly to help the British divers get the boys out of the cave.

“The Thais had been relying on their Navy SEALs who have contributed enormously to this, but by their own admission, the rescue is in the ocean, and diving in this cave is a very different experience. They [Chinese rescuers] have that skill in China, and they brought it with them, so they were able to support the teams, particularly the two British divers, until they ultimately found the boys,” Cheng added.

The leader of the operation, Chiang Rai province’s acting governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, told the world, “We did something nobody thought possible.” 

All 13 are in hospital in Chiang Rai, receiving medical and psychological assistance. Although the team members lost weight and will have to remain in the hospital for a week before recuperating for another week at home, the team is reportedly recovering well.