- The remaining five members of the Thai soccer team will be rescued from the cave today, officials have confirmed.
- Today's rescue mission began at around 10 a.m. local time.
- Rescue chief Narongsak Osatanakorn said efforts were expected "quicker or at least as quick as yesterday."
The mission to save the last 4 members of a Thai soccer team and their coach, who have been trapped in a cave for more than two weeks, has begun.
Rescue leader Narongsak Osatanakorn said at a sudden press conference on Tuesday that the mission began at 10.08 a.m. local time and that everyone in the cave is expected to be rescued today.
"We expect that everybody will be out today, the children and coach and everybody will be out today," Osatanakorn told reporters.
"Today we might have to wait longer, but it will be worth the wait," he added.
Osatanakorn said officials did not want to waste time because of intensifying rain that could halt rescue efforts.
"Water levels are the same like the last two days," he said, adding that rescue efforts were expected to faster than they had been before.
"The first day we spent 11 hours, yesterday we spent nine hours, we hope we can do it [today] quicker or at least as quick as yesterday."
19 divers are involved in the mission to bring the last four boys and their coach to safety, and more will enter gradually through the day.
Several ambulances were seen leaving the rescue site at around 12:40 p.m. local time, although it was unclear if the boys were inside.
Eight boys have so far been rescued from the cave, four on Sunday and another four on Monday.
About 0.6 miles of the journey on Sunday was believed to be underwater, requiring the boys to wear full face masks.
In that mission, two divers accompanied each boy, guided by a rope. The boys then walked from Chamber 3 to the mouth of the cave, which has been mostly drained over the last few days despite heavy rains.
The rescue mission began on Sunday morning, nearly a week since the 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their coach had been discovered on an embankment 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) inside the winding tunnels.
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