tonight -- >> that is the first ambulance, the whole world has been waiting to see this. >> the rescue that captivated the world. the boys on that thai soccer team now telling their incredible story. abc's james longman with the exclusive interview. the days of waiting. the fear of drowning. >> translator: if i told them we were stuck in the cave, they would have freaked out. >> then the heart-stopping moment when they first heard a rescuer's voice. >> how many of you? 13? brilliant. >> emerging from the flooded cave. now worldwide celebrities. >> how many followers do you have? >> 98,000. >> but looking forward to being kids again. tonight their stories of

survival and how truly grateful they are. this special edition of "nightline," "the kooithailand miracle boys," will be right back.

this s"nightline," "the tha miracle boys," continues. here now james longman.

>> reporter: here they are. those boys from thailand who just two months ago many thought faced almost certain death. today just being boys. laughing. what do you all now want to do in the future? >> translator: i want to be a soccer player like ronaldo and messi, my dream. >> reporter: meeting them in this stunning temple in thailand is truly incredible for me. >> sawadee. >> reporter: after two months of covering the journey of this soccer team nicknamed the wild boars. >> people coming from all over the country to do what they can to help, such as the story gripped people's imaginations. rescuers continue to pump billions of gallons of water out of that cave. but look at where we are. the caves run all the way underneath these mountains here. these are the kinds of military rations divers are swimming into the cave to give to the boys. we believe the first boys from that cave are in that ambulance.

>> reporter: abc news arranged an interview with the wild boars through the thai government on the condition the topics be reviewed by child psychologists and other specialists caring for the team in order to protect their well-being. they stunned the world in this video illuminated by a diver emerging from the water in that dark cave. there they were, 12 boys and their coach huddled together. >> how many of you? 13? brilliant. >> yeah, yeah. >> translator: well, i thought -- like surprised. i thought, one day they must come. we've been waiting, hoping, every day. but that night they really came. so i was surprised. i was overwhelmed. and didn't know what to expect. i was happy. >> reporter: it kicked off weeks of anticipation and concern on the outside as to if and how a rescue would happen. a daring race against mother nature culminating in a life-or-death effort

them out from deep inside those caverns, under said case, while the world watched and story bege most ordinary of ways, on this modest field where the wild boars soccer team practiced. the boys and their coach then made the fateful decision to visit the cave, a team adventure. tell me about what that day was like, coach. >> translator: we had soccer practice at the beginning. after the soccer practice, on our way back, we convinced each other to visit the cave and go inside the cave. >> reporter: some of the boys as young as 11, agile young athletes, though small. on their bikes they headed toward the cave situated under this mountain, "the mountain of the sleeping lady." a local legend says the spirit of a mythical princess inhabits it. some say you can see her sleeping in its shape. which ones never went before to the cave? ah. it was exciting? >> translator: at the beginning. >> translator: well, it was my

first time, so i felt like, let's go for it with everything. because i'm a soccer player, i wanted to get a new experience in my life. >> reporter: little did they know, as they ventured deeper inside the cave, it began to pour with rain outside. it was the beginning of thailand's wet season, and the chambers began to flood. 25-year-old coach understood how dangerous the situation could become. he described to me the moment they knew they were stuck in a cavern called the hidden city. >> translator: first of all, i got ahold of myself. i tried not to make them freak out. if i'd told them we were stuck in the cave, they would have freaked out. >> then you thought, i'm stuck, i need to find a way to get everyone out, and you had some rope. what was your plan? >> translator: i volunteered to dive, to find out if we could go through. if i could go through, everybody

would be safe. at the moment we used the rope that i brought, so i let three hold the rope. i told the boys if i signaled by pulling the rope twice, it meant they had to pull me back because i did not have enough oxygen. >> reporter: parts of the cave became submerged with the team trapped on higher ground. so when you were in inside, you made sure that everyone was very calm? >> translator: so i tried to keep them composed and tell them in a positive way that we would make it out soon. >> reporter: on the outside, as friends and family gathered at the mouth of the cave, searching for signs of life, the thai government leapt into action. more than 1,000 of the nation's military were deployed in the search effort, including 17 members of the royal thai navy s.e.a.l.s. this is a massive operation, let me show you a little bit about where we are, this patch of jungle has been totally transformed. there were rescuers and volunteers everywhere you look. if you look up there you can see oxygen tanks being stacked up

outside the entrance to the cave. those are for the divers. >> reporter: other nations offered their help too. the boys had no idea the world had rallied around to find them, holing out hope they were still alive. instead, they were seeking an escape. on the fourth day they began digging with rocks they found inside. and ten days after they disappeared, weak, surviving on water dripping from stalactites in the cave, there was a surprise in the darkness. >> how many of you? 13? brilliant. >> yeah, yeah. >> who went down to the water first? >> translator: well, i felt, like, surprised. i thought one day they must come, we've been waiting and hoping every day. >> reporter: now recalling a funny moment of misunderstanding. who was translating? >> translator: right then adul was talking to the divers. everybody was trying to figure out what they were saying. i told him to translate but he

didn't. so while adul was talking to the divers i shouted, who knows some english? please translate for me. >> reporter: on the outside, sheer relief. >> absolute elation, followed quickly with, wait a second, now we've got to get these kids out. >> reporter: the divers who found the boys, john velantin and rick stanton, and fellow divers, belong to an elite british cave diving team with unique rescue skills. in thailand these volunteers come to be known as the awesome foursome. >> i never had to think for a second about whether i would go. i think it's human nature to know if you've got an ability, then of course you will. >> we always knew we could get them out. it's whether we could get them out alive or not. >> reporter: medical experts examine the boys still trapped in the cave. surprisingly, they were in relatively good health. >> translator: my health is good. >> reporter: one boy flashed "v"

for victory. but they had lost weight. a group of thai navy s.e.a.l.s stayed with the boys, bringing supplies to help regain their strength. >> translator: they stayed overnight with us, i felt warm. we had brothers taking care of us and giving advice how to protect ourselves and survive in the cave. >> reporter: the boys bonded with their rescuers. who played the game with the navy s.e.a.l.s? everyone played games? >> reporter: using soil and stones to play checkers. >> who beat the navy s.e.a.l.? everybody lost? >> reporter: the boys wrote letters to their parents about their cravings for their favorite foods. adul asked for fried chicken. but up in the rescue village, anxiety was rising. more rain was forecast, adding to the pressure to act fast. >> we're all anxiously watching that cave rescue in thailand -- >> race against time to save a soccer coach and his young players -- >> reporter: the gemd unaware of just how precarious their situation was. like other soccer fans, their focus was on the world cup.

>> you support croatia? >> reporter: but then things turned tragic on day 14. former thai navy s.e.a.l. saman gunan was found unconscious on one of his dives and he later died. >> translator: sergeant sam's mouthpiece fell off. he was trying to grab it but he couldn't find it. he was trying to take out the spare one, but due to the complexity of the cave, there was no air to breathe. >> very sad. the whole world collapsed. >> reporter: what stood between the boys and the daylight they hadn't seen in two weeks was about a mile and a half underground obstacle course of rocky chambers, half-flooded canals, and fully submerged sections, the longest of those 350 meters, the length of seven olympic swimming pools, filled with water so muddy it was like swimming in coffee. >> physically could not see your hand in front of your face no matter how close you put it to your face. >> reporter: the boys prepared for their exit from the cave, not knowing just how risky that mission would be.

coming up, on day 16 the boys prepare for the exit from the cave. not knowing how truly risky their rescue would be. and their life since emerging from the darkness. woman 1: proof of less joint pain... woman 2: ...and clearer skin. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common,

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this special edition of "nightline," "the thailand miracle boys," continues. here again, james longman. >> reporter: 15 days had passed since the 12 soccerates and their coach became trapped in this dark, flooded cave. >> translator: today is d-day. we are 100% ready. >> reporter: finally the time

had come to make the hours-long and complicated journey out of the darkness. the boys were ready. with the help of their coach, they decided who would make the journey first. >> translator: i was talking to the navy s.e.a.l., dr. bach, skulling about which ones we should bring out first, which ones to save for later. the navy s.e.a.l. said, cope eck, you make the decision. at that point it was me in charge of making the choice about which ones to save first and which ones to save later. >> reporter: an enormous cache of extra air canisters were put in place and support divers deployed in the chambers throughout the cave. >> i'm not one to hang at the back, i'm usually at the front. i volunteered. >> reporter: british diver jason mallenson volunteered to escort the first boy out of the cave. it would be one boy to one diver. already wearing a wet suit, each boy walked down a steep slope into the water. now it was time for an absolutely critical step. agreed to in advance by the thai

government, each boy would be injected with a sedative, ketamine, by anesthesiologist dr. richard harris. the shot not just to relax each boy, it was to knock him out cold. >> i was not fully confident we could get them out alive. we weren't sure how they'd react in the water, whether the drug would be enough. >> reporter: once sedate a face mask strapped tightly on each one, a potential leak fatal. >> when they start moving, arms moving around, the potential for them to kill themselves, the potential for them to kill us. >> reporter: but he's not one for turning back. he entered the cold, murky water with the boy fort daunting first dive stage. remember, 350 meters long, 3 1/2 football fields. after about 20 painstaking, agonizing minutes, mallenson successfully completed the first

stage. waiting for him were two support divers who helped him lift the unconscious boy out of the water. >> we realized that the mask worked, the drug worked. after that i new there's a good chance we can get them all out. >> reporter: the three had to physically carry the child to the next dive point, then swim across deep canals with rushing water. >> it was harder in the canal sections. once we were under water and he was neutral, and i was neutral, it's hard to swim in a canal and push an inert child along with you. >> reporter: after what seemed like hours, mallenson emerged from the darkness with that first child in tow. >> that is the first ambulance. the whole country, the whole world, has been waiting to see this. we believe that the first boys from that cave are in that ambulance. >> reporter: over the course of the next 48 hours, one by one they came out, racing past us in ambulances. the final group escaping just in time before the cavern fills with water. >> all 12 players and their coach have made it out.

>> it's a miracle. >> it's now mission accomplished. >> every member of that soccer team trapped in the cave in thailand now free. >> reporter: it was 18 days since their disappearance. and the drama that captivated the world was finally over. all 12 boys and their coach alive and well. feeling the weight of the world's prayers they began a strenuous recovery process. the world got the first glimpse of the boys safe in hospital beds. >> now i'm really fine. i thank you so carefully. thank you so much. >> tell me what it was like for you to see your family after all this time. >> translator: i was so happy to see my mom and dad. i felt even warmer. >> then when you were in the hospital, you could see them through the glass, is that right?

>> yes. >> reporter: july 18. after over a week in the hospital, the boys>> reporter: e fried chicken he'd craved so much. today they're feeling strong, energized, ready for the future. is life back to normal again? >> translator: my life is getting better. >> and what do you all now want to do in the future? do you have big plans for your future? >> translator: my dream is to be a soccer player. >> navy s.e.a.l. >> you want to be a navy s.e.a.l.? >> yes. >> yes. >> reporter: big dreams as well as a big following. the boys now instagram stars. how many followers do you have? >> 98. >> 98,000? >> yes. >> translator: i heard some rumor he's got over 300,000 followers. >> you have 300,000 followers on instagram?

>> translator: yes. >> you're very famous. >> translator: yes. >> reporter: something else taking the internet by storm, the deli alli challenge, named after one of mr. soccer heroes. they show me how it's done. everyone has to do it together? like this? >> and that. yes. >> why do you think the world was so interested in this story? >> translator: everyone loved and cared about us. like they were our parents. they cared like we were their children. that inspired and motivated them to help us. >> translator: me and the brothers would like to thank his majesty who has always helped us and brought us out of the cave. >> reporter: some here believe it was that spirit said to be living in this mountain, the mythical princess, who helped guide the bs to safety, thus creating a new legend. when we come back, a final

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♪ the story of this thai cave and the boys stuck inside for all that time gripped the whole world. it was the story of incredible bravery, of sudden tragedy. but mostly of survival against the odds. it was also a story of extraordinary international cooperation, demonstrating the power of collective action. meeting the boys, it struck me how they're both totally normal and incredibly special at the same time. just regular kids, but somehow they knew they'd be okay. with the help of their coach, they found an inner strength that got them through. surely an inspiration to us all. for "nightline," i'm james longman in thailand. good night. ht.