The football team coach was taken out of the cave with 3 Thai children?

Outside Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital where four members of the football team are undergoing medical examination. Photo: Thuan Thang

According to Thailand's Bangkok Post late on July 8, the first group to be taken out of the cave may include coach Ekapol Chantawong, 25 years old.

According to the previously approved rescue plan, the 13 people trapped in the cave will be divided into four groups, with coach Ekkapol Chantawong among the last three to leave the cave.

Specifically, the number of people in each group is as follows: group 1 has 4 people; groups 2, 3 and 4 all have 3 people. The coach will be in the last group rescued from Tham Luang cave.

On the night of July 8, Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital, where the four members of the Thai football team were taken for a health check, was heavily guarded by both police and military.

Before that, the hospital had covered the main lobby with tarpaulin. The road in front of the hospital was blocked by police and was only allowed to pass through at 11pm, after it was announced that the first rescue operation had ended and the next one would reopen in the morning.

According to the hospital security chief, police guarded the hospital overnight and during the days the boys were treated there.

International reporters also began to gather outside the hospital.

Until 11pm, reporters from major US, French and British TV channels were still continuously connecting directly from the scene to the studio. They said they would be on duty all night to update their viewers with the latest news, especially to find the first images of the victims who had just been rescued.

At midnight, the international press team still tried to contact the hospital leadership to ask about the health status of the young players. The answer was still silence.