With victory signs, rescued Thai boys celebrate freedom

They were found on July 2 after the search, joined by more than 1,000 rescuers, entered the ninth day.

In an extremely difficult mission, rescuers had to dive the boys out as most of the passages were submerged by a flash flood. The boys were thus trained with basic diving skills.

A team of more than 100 expert divers had been working in the cave, guiding the boys and their coach through darkness and inundated passageways towards the mouth of the cave system.

The rescue process included a mixture of walking, wading, climbing and diving along guide ropes.

Each boy, wearing full-face mask, was accompanied by two divers, who also carried the boy's air supply.