The complex operation to rescue four young footballers and their coach who remain trapped in a flooded Thai cave enters day three.
Thai official: Rescued boys generally 'healthy and smiling'
A Thai public health official says the eight boys rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand are in "high spirits" and have strong immune systems because they are soccer players.
Jesada Chokdumrongsuk, deputy director-general of the Public Health Ministry, said on Tuesday that the first four boys rescued, aged 12 to 16, are now able to eat normal food.
He said two of them possibly have a lung infection but all eight are generally "healthy and smiling".
He said, "the kids are footballers so they have high immune systems."
The second group of four rescued on Monday are aged 12 to 14. Family members have seen at least some of the boys from behind a glass barrier.
WATCH: Thai cave rescue - 'No kid has cave dived like this before'
One of the divers on the rescue team in Thailand explains the difficulty of getting the boys out.
"They (all the boys) will have to stay in the hospital for one week to wait for their results and to see if anything changes," he said.
Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, Inspector General of the Public Health Ministry, said the first four boys taken out on Sunday were eating normal and plain food."They're asking for chocolate.
We can see that everything is ok as they're eating well," he said.
The boys remain in quarantine but some of their parents have been able to see their children through the glass.
Thailand has been riveted by the dramatic rescue mission to save the "Wild Boars" team after they first got trapped in Tham Luang more than two weeks ago by rising floodwaters.
Rescuers are racing to extract the rest of the squad and their coach as heavy rains pick back up in the northern province, threatening to complicate the last phase of the mission by reflooding the cave.
The first eight boys rescued from a Thai cave are in good mental and physical health and are asking for chocolate, officials said Tuesday, although two were on antibiotics after being tested for pneumonia.
"Everyone is in a good mental state," Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, told reporters at Chiang Rai hospital."
None of the eight boys has fever today," he added in the clearest update yet on the condition of the boys rescued from Tham Luang cave.
The boys, aged 12-16, were the first to be extracted on Sunday and Monday, while the final four and their coach spent a 17th night inside.
Experts had warned of possible long-lasting damage from the ordeal, either through psychological trauma or infections caught in the cave.
Jesada said the group had been given x-rays and blood tests, adding that two presented suspected symptoms of pneumonia but were given antibiotics and were "in a normal state".
He said the group can eat, move about, and talk.
Rescuers aim to guide out the remaining five members of a football squad from inside a flooded Thai cave, the chief of the painstaking operation to free them told reporters.
"We plan to bring out four boys and coach," rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said, adding "a doctor, and three (Thai Navy) SEALS" who have stayed with the group since they were found more than a week ago will also leave the cave today.
LATEST: Rain adds urgency to rescue of last five trapped in Thai cave
Rescuers raced to save four young footballers and their coach who remain trapped in a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday as heavy rains threatened an already perilous escape mission that has seen eight of the boys extracted in "good health".
The members of the "Wild Boars" team, aged between 12 and 16, were guided to safety through the twisting, submerged passages of the Tham Luang cave by a team of international expert divers flanked by Thai Navy SEALs over two days in a meticulously planned operation.
The emergence of the second batch of four on Monday evening was greeted with a simple "Hooyah" by the Thai SEAL team on their Facebook page, an exclamation that lit up Thai social media.
"All eight are in good health, no fever... everyone is in a good mental state," Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, told reporters on Tuesday at Chiang Rai hospital in the clearest update on their condition so far.
SEE: 8 boys brought out of flooded Thai cave - official
Four more of the boys trapped for over two weeks in a flooded cave in northern Thailand were brought out on Monday, an official said, bringing to eight the number extracted in a high-stakes rescue operation.
"The eighth person is out and the operation is done for today," Sitthichai Klangpattana, flag officer to Thailand's navy SEAL commander, told The Associated Press.
"Four boys were brought out today."
He didn't comment on the health of the boys or how well the operation had gone.
ICYMI
Thai cave rescue: A timeline
Two days, eight rescued. The unprecedented mission to evacuate the "Wild Boar" football team and their coach from a flooded Thai cave has gripped Thailand and dominated global headlines.
The complex operation, which began on Monday after several days of meticulous planning, is likely to resume on Tuesday.
That leaves five of the 13 to spend another night inside the cave. With fresh monsoon rains due, rescuers have warned the window of opportunity to evacuate the boys is "limited".