destination, something that thousands of thai people would do with their family and friends on a regular basis. it turns out that this cave had a bit ofa bite and i am sure that in the future, some thought will be given to regulation and planning. the mission to rescue these boys started this morning. at least four boys are said to be in good health according to the latest press c0 nfe re nce . good health according to the latest press conference. the rest remain trapped in the original location they were found earlier this week. they were trapped by monsoon flooding over two weeks and the operation is said to be a race against time. the hospital pictures where the boys have been taken and are being treated by local doctors. earlier my colleagues spoke to

lieutenant colonel steve whitlock who was part of a mission in one of the biggest cave systems in mexico city. it is good news that we are starting to see people come out of the cave. but it is not over until it is over. you go through a period of seeing success, but the rescue is not over until all of the people are out , including the divers. it is good news that we are starting to see people come through this difficult passages and get out of that cave. i would caution people to be a little bit careful, because we have still got an awful of people that have to come out of that cave, and we're yet to see the remaining neighbours ——members of the team come through. you have been part of a rescue team, as i said earlier. it took place in mexico city. how closely does that event resemble what we're seeing now in thailand? in some ways, it is very similar. we rescued a group of six cavers from a similar situation. the big difference was it was part

of a contingency plan. although it was a rescue plan, we were aware it was flooded, we had a data—logger in there for three years, and we knew it would flood to the roof. we had a camp set up, we had divers on standby in the uk should that happen. so the difference was we were slightly more prepared because we knew that particular cave flooded. there are so many teams from around the world involved in this. in terms of cave diving, where do you go first? for expertise. the obvious answer was rick stanton.

we knew that nearly 1a years ago, and the situation hasn't really changed. there are some really good cave divers around the world, but it is quite a close—knit community. is there a number you can dialfor a cave dive rescue, probably not. it is an interesting thought. but if you are caving at the level that we were in mexico, there were enough members of my team that understood who do that understood who to ring, and obviously we arranged that beforehand. we are hearing a lot about the diving plan. what is involved in one of those? obviously you need to know the cave in detail, and rick would have done that when he first moved in to find those members of that team. you need to find out how long you were submerged, how complex that cave system is. we have seen a lot on the news about how tight it was and how difficult it was.

that would have been a big part of the plan. can you move people in there? you have got to consider the safety of the rescuer. if you are moving somebody through an environment like that who is not used to it, then it is as dangerous for the rescuer as for the person being rescued. particularly if that person starts to panic, loses the line or gets everybody disorientated. all of that needs to be considered and you need to train for it. we trained on the far side of the sun. i hadn't trained members of the team i hadn't trained members of the team i had before we went to mexico. before we dive them through, we train them in the cave. in water. to make sure that we understood how they reacted before we considered bringing them out using diving. just to let you know quickly, and our viewers, we arejust looking at scenes at tham luang,

with rescuers with those lit helmets walking away from and around the site itself. we also saw a number of ambulances moving. the rescuers, they have got bags, red shirts on as well. some of them have got their torches on. just going back again to what you have said about training children or training people before bringing them through and completing that rescue, what exactly do you look for? how on earth do you begin a crash course in cave diving in an emergency situation? you have to put them in the gear they will be moving through the cave with. you find a safe piece of water which isn't submerged, not covered by a cave passage above. and you put them under water and you see how they react. essentially what we planned in mexico, we had a diveline laid

across the base of the cave which effectively, what we did for the people we rescued, we put a lot of weight on them and they crawled. they didn't swim, they crawled and followed the rope all the way out of the cave. they may have used the same method. the moment you make them neutrally buoyant, so they can float around, they are more difficult to manage. but you make that assessment on the far side of the sun. you put them in the equipment, see how they perform in the water, and then they are not diving straight into the unknown. they understand what is going on, they can see they can be looked after, and you reassure them with presence because you cannot talk to them. they know it is ok. once you have their trust, you can bring them out. it is quite difficult. talking about trust, how do you communicate with somebody who is inexperienced, once that dive is under way? you can't.

you have just got to be present and have your hand on their arm or their hand, they have got to feel you because they will not be able to see you, especially in that muddy water. they have to know you are there and they must trust you. to develop that trust is difficult in that short period of time. but a short dive in preparation before they are put into harm's way made a big difference for us, and i can only issue ——assume that they followed a similar path. once you have got the person out of the cave, obviously these boys have been in there for nearly a fortnight, there will be some light sensitivity in their eyes. what medical plans are put in place? what did you do in mexico? the human body adapts quickly and actually the biggest shock that the people in our party had when they came out was the level of interest, the world's interest in what had happened to them.

it was not a medical thing, it was a psychological thing to know that they were, in our case, on the news every day for ten days in the western world. that was a big thing. they were going, what is all the fuss about? this was a plan we had already enacted. i suspect the members of the football team will be feeling the same. they will be amazed so many people are involved, amazed that the military there, amazed that all of those people are around that cave or in the vicinity of that cave. regarding the medical. it is just a checkup. you just need to make sure that they are fit and healthy. they are young lads, footballers, probably reasonably fit, they probably need a good meal and some good water, rehydration, and they will be right as rain. psychologically, it will be interesting to see how they cope

when they realise how much interest the world has had in their situation. would somebody who has been rescued under such conditions have psychological help in place, and is it as advisable? i don't know. with the age of these youngsters, it is something they will have to look at. they might have problems associating with confined spaces or water. but if it is done in a positive way, if they got out and it hasn't led to any sort of trauma, then actually they will probably get it over quite quickly. most young people are quite resilient, so i will shouldn't think there will be any long—term effects. you mentioned the training that took place and the equipment, how heavy is that equipment? would the boys have been dressed in wet suits,

would they need that because of the water, or is the water going to be quite warm? i don't know the temperature, but you will find that the average temperature in a cave and probably the water associated with it is the average temperature of the country you are in. being in thailand, i would imagine that water would be in the early 20s. you can do pretty well without a wet suit in that temperature. the equipment is fairly heavy, but i'm sure they manage that and they managed it in a way to make sure that those youngsters may not have carried the equipment themselves or, if they did, it would be something they could manage. it is really advantageous in that situation that people don't actually swim. if they do swim, they get lost. if they are heavy, you can place them on the floor, the diver knows where they are, the rescue diver can then move around them and they cannot easily move away.

that is a real advantage. then you know where those divers are and what they are up to. we can bring you more lines from that press conference i mentioned earlier. that was from the thai head of the rescue operation who said the rescue workers need ten hours to prepare for the next operation and said 90 divers, 5a, and a0 thai people have been involved in the operation. the first boys were rescued and transferred by helicopter to the nearest hospital in chiang rai, where we heard from nick beek. dan johnson in chiang rai, where we heard from nick beek. danjohnson is at the mouth of the cave. it looks like people are leaving the

site for the night and we have confirmation from the press conference that four of the boys have been rescued from the cave and the operation has concluded for the night. they will lead the rest where they are and we understand the others have not started the journey out, they wanted to take a group of four first to see if they could safely make it out and it looks like they have achieved that. an incredible achievement that gives eve ryo ne incredible achievement that gives everyone a positive feeling it is possible to bring all these people out safely but bear in mind the tiredness levels of the experts leading the operation. they have worked all day and it looks like those are some of the dive team is leaving now. there are 18 specialist divers guiding the boys out. as you heard, it takes many hours to get one boy to the exit of the cave. it looks like they took the decision they have done as much as they can today, everyone needs to rest, so

they are not working when they are too tired and we are told they will come back fresh in the morning to start the operation at 8am. everyone is positive they have proven this rescue method can work and they can teach these boys enough about scuba—diving teach these boys enough about scu ba—diving so they teach these boys enough about scuba—diving so they are comfortable with conditions, with the task they have to complete. the track they have to complete. the track they have to complete. the track they have to navigate, the path out the cave, through the underwater caverns, a tricky thing for any cave diver to accomplish but it looks like four of the boys have made it and the expectation is more will follow tomorrow. it looks like a hive of activity. could you give us a taste of what is going on? this has the feeling of things winding down. that has been the case with a flood of workers who left the site after the last ambulance we saw. it was around two hours ago we saw the

first ambulance driver out, where that car is leaving, with lights flashing and it headed off presumably to the hospital you heard the report from and that was followed by three ambulances that left with lights on. other ambulances have left without lights flashing. it looks like the four we re flashing. it looks like the four were taken separately in the ambulances with the lights flashing, others ambulances left but that is possibly they're moving away for the night and everyone will return tomorrow to restart the rescue effort to get everyone else up. they said today was d—day, an opportunity to try their best to put the rescue plan into action and they have proven it can work for the four but eve ryo ne proven it can work for the four but everyone is proven it can work for the four but everyone is aware proven it can work for the four but everyone is aware there are risks with his operation and a lot of work to do. it will be tricky getting the remaining boys and coach out of batcave, tomorrow possibly into the day after. you talk about exhaustion levels, tomorrow will there be a tag

tea m levels, tomorrow will there be a tag team format with another set of divers going in? no, we believe it will be the same team because the expertise and experience required to manage a rescue mission are limited with only a few people who have experienced diving deep, so far underground. they have come from all around the world, five or six nationalities involved in that 18 strong team at the core of the rescue effort so i think those people with that experience in these conditions are the ones calling the shots and to have assessed whether the boys were ready to make the journey and they have guided the mission today for the first four boys taking care of them along the way and taking their time. nobody wa nted way and taking their time. nobody wanted to rush things, nobody wanted to get it wrong and it looks like they are taking a break and we'll come back fresh tomorrow. a big support team of soldiers from the thai military and divers from the thai military and divers from the

thai navy, but the navy was candid they did not have the experience of working these conditions and it welcomed international support, but they have to use the experience wisely. i think the rationale is there is no point hiring people, wasting that experience and energy, let everyone take their time and come back tomorrow knowing this rescue method can succeed and hoping they can make it happen for the rest of the people stuck in that cave. it will need more time and there are still risks. it is raining slightly and the risk was always the rain got heavier, levels would increase. the man in charge said if that happened they would move more quickly to get people out as soon as possible but for the moment it looks like they are taking care putting the plan into operation and it is succeeding. we know that four of the boys have been taken to hospital. how did they decide who to bring out first? they have had doctors in the cave over

the weekend assessing the condition of the boys, so the cave diving experts have been assessing the strength, confidence, ability with the scuba diving equipment but they have also eyed medical examinations to assess the impact of this two—week ordeal underground without properfood. it two—week ordeal underground without proper food. it was ten days before they were discovered when they did not eat at all. they have suffered because of this ordeal, they are weakened, but the officials in charge thought that they had got to a sufficient point where they were ready to at least start getting them out. we understand they have started with the weakest. we do not know if that means the ones who are weakest in terms of strength or getting to grips with the scuba diving technique but they started with the boys who they thought needed to come out first and they have put a small group together. we were told it would be a small group that came out and it looks like they have started with four. they were taken by ambulance, that is the option of

helicopters who —— which are on standby. we have not seen the helicopters this clause because they have to be a certain distance away to find flatlands. i am not sure how they got to the hospital but they we re they got to the hospital but they were under way quickly to get the treatment. this will take some recovering from the impact of the last two weeks and the emotional effect. everyone is aware that if the rest are able to leave the cave safely, that is not the end of this, there will be lots of work to do for these boys to come to terms with what has happened and to deal with it. at the moment, the hopes are that the rest of the group can join them tomorrow perhaps the day after. our correspondent nick beake has been outside the chiang rai hospital where the boys are being treated. he gave me this update. this is the main hospital in the chiang rai region, about one hour by carfrom chiang rai region, about one hour by car from the cave complex where the boys have been rescued from today,

four boys. i am just looking, as some sort of military vehicle there. in the past 90 minutes we have seen two ambulances arrive. the railings we re two ambulances arrive. the railings were moved away, the traffic was stopped and the ambulances raced to the main entrance to the hospital. we have seen police helicopters, or certainly helicopters involved in the rescue overhead. the crucial information to bring you comes from a press co nfe re nce information to bring you comes from a press conference in the last few minutes but also from the thai navy seals, there are divers have been involved in the rescue and they say four of the boys have been brought out. we do not know about their condition. clearly the teams have been waiting for their arrival, but in terms of how the individual boys are failing, we do not know. do you have any idea what kind of treatment they will be receiving? they have not seen light for a number of days. the thing to remember is that for

nearly a week they have had a doctor with them, able to get to the cave where they were stranded, able to assess them on a daily basis. last night the former governor in charge of the rescue operation said that the boys were strong enough to embark on this rescue attempt. clearly a decision was made. we have had some details from the doctors and nurses. they say there is a special unit within the hospital which has been set aside for the boys. we do not know whether it is individual cubicles, but specialist team is on hand to carry out the basic observational checks. blood tests, other things you would expect normally. it is the very best out, if the boys are able to move through the caves, work part of the way and get onto a stretcher and be brought here. —— stretcher. if they are in difficulty, if their

condition is weaker, the specialists will have a much tougherjob. in terms of treatment going on now, thatis terms of treatment going on now, that is not clear. they have made their way to the hospital. i can only imagine the degree of relief on the part of the families. is there any word? we do not know if the families are here. for the past fortnight we have seen them in different places around the cave complex. they have been in there tucked away area, kept up—to—date with the latest information. they would have been given all the updates from the divers first, as they started this operation, and decided to continue with it. it may be that family members are inside now. we do not know if they are or whether they have been able to see their loved ones. clearly a dreadful ordealfor their loved ones. clearly a dreadful ordeal for them. their loved ones. clearly a dreadful ordealfor them. two their loved ones. clearly a dreadful ordeal for them. two weeks they have been having to cope with this. first there was the dreadful sensation of not knowing what has happened. for nine days those boys were trapped.

finally it was the two british amateur divers who were able to locate them and tell the world that they had been found. in terms of the reaction from the families, we have not seen that yet. this is still in the early days, only four boys have been brought to safety. 13 in the party so long way to go. we are watching the developments closely. this has brought country together. we are utterly gripped here. i can only imagine how emotionally charged things aaron thailand. thailand as a nation has been praying for the best, feeling the worst. talk to the people who live here and they are as one. they are so determined that the boys should be rescued. we met some of the well—wishers at the site, they created a community over the last two weeks. the sense of optimism when they heard that the boys had been located was

incredible. there was an energy which flowed through the site and that sustain so many people who were working long shifts. if you look in the eyes of the rescuers, the divers, they were shattered but the continued and said they would keep going for as long as it takes. if we have the news in the coming hours that all of the boys have been able to be brought to safety, there will bejubilation. it to be brought to safety, there will be jubilation. it is a to be brought to safety, there will bejubilation. it is a long way to be brought to safety, there will be jubilation. it is a long way to go. four boys so far, 13 in all. this is very much the focus for the coming hours. assuming this is going to go on throughout the night? yes, absolutely. we have just had a press conference from the authorities in this part in the north of thailand. they gave us some of the emoji details. we have been listening to collea g u es details. we have been listening to colleagues at the scene, about one hour by carfrom colleagues at the scene, about one hour by car from here. they have seen hour by car from here. they have seen the various ambulances drive past them, out towards the main

road. we have also seen the helicopters take—off. we do expect more boys to be brought here, and as and when more boys are taken out. this will be an extremely long operation because we have heard that to reach the boys, that has taken divers, some of them with 30 years experience, 11 hours. this is a massive journey. during experience, 11 hours. this is a massivejourney. during the experience, 11 hours. this is a massive journey. during the week we we re massive journey. during the week we were able to go to a cave about ten kilometres away from the spot where the boys were trapped. we got a glimpse of that place and i can tell you it was claustrophobic, it was hot, the water was murky. if it was flooded, there would have been no visibility whatsoever. we got some information earlier from the thai navy teams. they explained that each boy would be shepherded through by two expect divers, so the boys would feel their presence as they were moved through. there was a guide

rope that was set up so rather than being able to look you're going, people would move through bit by bit. the corridors are so narrow. that was part of the problem. it was not going out at one angle, they we re not going out at one angle, they were going up and down and some of the best divers in the world were saying this was a for them. let's remind you how things have unfolded over the past 2a hours. the mission to rescue the boys and their football coach began at around ten o'clock local time. we know that four boys have been brought to safety a nd four boys have been brought to safety and they are at the local chiang rai hospital. the operation has come to a close. i have seen of facebook post from the thai navy seals wishing their supporters good night. the operation will continue tomorrow. plenty more on our website. there is a live page there and if you would like to get in touch with me, you can find the

details online. hello. if you think the weather is too hard or too dry, we will briefly address one of those in the week ahead. it will be cooler but warming up ahead. it will be cooler but warming up again. plenty of warm sunshine across much of england and wales today, but for scotland and northern ireland, more cloud, but there have been warm sunny spells. from the thicker cloud in the north of scotland, it has been cooler and you may have encountered light rain. mainly dry this evening and overnight, sunshine to end the day, and cloud increasing across the east overnight. drizzle for the north—east of scotland, possibly and the north—east of england. just as warm for sleeping in the north of england and much of england and wales. high pressure in control on

monday, but this week weather front will change the feel of the weather on monday and tuesday as it brings cooler air size. there will be more cloud around on monday, but some warm spells to be had. most places looking dry, but in terms of the temperature, yes, it will feel cooler, particularly for the south—east of scotland and the north—east of england, maybe 5 degrees cooler, but the warmth is laid across southern england, south wales, the west midlands, and temperatures will top out at nearly 30 celsius. going into tuesday, things will become cooler. we will see more cloud at wimbledon than we have had over the weekend but there will be sunny spells coming through. it will feel warmer too hot in the sunshine with temperatures near 30, but better for the players and choose day with temperatures down a

few degrees. the cooler air com pletes few degrees. the cooler air completes its journey south on tuesday. high pressure in the north—east, which makes the north—east, which makes the north—east coast cooler for a time, before all parts c warmer weather —— warmer weather spreading from the south during the week. if you want cooler weather this week, does not last long. lots of settled, dry, sunny weather to be had with high pressure in control. warming up from the south again later in the week. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. our headlines. officials in thailand say four boys have been rescued from a flooded cave system and have been taken to a local hospital. the boys and their football coach have been trapped in the complex cave system for more than a fortnight and were found by rescue divers earlier this week. a team of 90 divers have helped the boys through a difficult part of the route. the rescue effort has been suspended until tomorrow. hello.