Thai team found, but can't flee cave yet

Wang Yingjie, leader of the Chinese rescue team, said the boys must stay a few more days in the cave before they can be reunited with their families.

"Currently, both the mental and physical states of the trapped kids are relatively positive," he said. "But before we can move to the next step, we will give them professional medical evaluations and conditioning for two or three days, as they haven't eaten for more than a week."

The 12 boys, ages 11 to 16, went missing with their coach after a soccer practice on June 23, when they set out to explore the Tham Luang cave complex in a forest park near Thailand's northern border.

However, the rescue progress did not go smoothly because of local natural conditions. "The first one is the unknown situation in the cave. We have very limited information on the cave, so every step is relying on teammates to explore," Wang said.

The water level remains too high due to the days of heavy rain, which also led to poor visibility under the water, he added.

Wang said a possible way to get the group out safely is to train them with basic diving skills, such as how to use diving gear to navigate the flooded cave.