This diagram shows exactly how the Thai soccer team were rescued from the caves

• It has not been easy extracting the twelve boys and their soccer coach from the flooded underground cave complex in northern Thailand.
• Each person had to be tethered to two divers and follow a 3-mile-long rope guiding them back to the cave's entrance.
• About 0.6 miles of that journey was completely under water, where everyone had to wear full face masks.

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All twelve boys and their soccer coach have been successfully rescued from a Thai cave complex after an 18-day ordeal that gripped the world.

Because the team was trapped in an underground tunnel, 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave, getting them out was an ordeal: The boys had to travel that entire distance, tethered to two cave divers with oxygen tanks.

This graphic shows exactly how the team was taken out of the cave:

About 0.6 miles of the journey was completely underwater, where everyone had to wear full face masks.

And because the cave's tunnels are dark, the divers also had to hold onto a 3-mile-long rope and be guided by lights back to the main entrance.

The team was also given anti-anxiety medication to calm them while the divers got them out.

The last four boys and their 25-year-old soccer coach were extracted from the Tham Luang cave network on Tuesday evening, and are being taken to a nearby hospital.

Eight other boys are currently there recovering after being pulled out on Sunday and Monday. They have been kept in a sterilized isolation unit, required to eat soft, plain, and non-spicy food, and are not allowed to watch TV.

SEE ALSO: The boys rescued from the Thai caves have a long recovery ahead, with porridge, quarantine, and limited entertainment — here's what it's like for them in hospital

READ MORE: This cartoon depicting the Thai cave rescue is going viral in Thailand — and it has a hidden meaning

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