The 12 Thai boys and their football coach who were rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand have spoken for the first time and told their story in their own words, often sharing lighter moments as well as a few darker recollections from their rescue.
The boys are now preparing to leave as the press conference wraps up. They first turn to the photo of the fallen rescuer and bow deeply as a sign of respect.
The psychologist who treated the boys now speaking. "I would like the boys to go back to normal life, it would help with development," she says.
"Because they are good kids already."
"Don't ask them awkward questions, allow them some space."
Some of the boys
The boys and the rescuers are asked how they determined who would go first. Evidently, they eventually decided those who lived the furthest, should leave first.
The boys are asked what they're going to eat once they get home - crispy pork, frog legs, and porridge are among some of the responses. One of the boys says "chocolate bread", which apparently means Nutella on bread.
"After this experience, I would like to be a Navy SEAL member," one of the boys says.
Most of the others say they would like to be professional footballers.
One of the boys expresses their gratitude to the rescuer who died during the rescue operation.
"We hope you rest in peace, thank you for your sacrifice for us. We would like to send our condolences to your family. We hope that you 'sleep well', we hope that you are in a good place, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
The boys and the rescuers now talking about the bond that formed between them. "It felt like family."
One of the Thai Navy SEALS now speaking, says they decided they would keep looking even if they did not find the kids at first. The first rescuer who found the boys is now recounting his version of events.
Says he gave all the provisions he had with him to the boys. "I gave everything to the kids."
The boys tried to dig their way
Boy rescued from Thai cave says
Chiang Rai (AFP) – One of the 12 boys dramatically rescued from deep inside a Thai cave said on Wednesday the moment they were found by British divers was a "miracle".
"It is a miracle," Adul Sam-on, 14, told a press conference as the 12 members of the football team and their coach appeared in public for the first time since the rescue.
The "Wild Boars" team entered the cave on June 23 after practice. They were found nine days later by two British cave
"I tried not to think about food, I tried not to think about fried rice," one of the boys says to laughter from the crowd.
The boys are now talking about how dark it was in the cave, and how they had tried to come up with a plan to leave the cave. They had considered digging their way out, but the flood waters proved too much. They then made plans to sleep in the cave, but some of them were worried about food.
When the boys wanted to leave the cave, the way back out was flooded.
The boys are now talking about how they planned to go into the cave. They say they communicated via Facebook and organised the trip.
Some of them had already been to the cave and gone in quite deep, but the water caused a problem this time.
They had planned to exit the cave by 17:00. It was the birthday of one of the boys, and they had planned to go to his party afterward.
The boys are asked if they watched the World Cup final... They respond and say yes, the doctors "allowed" them to watch it on TV.
Most of them supported Croatia, one of the boys says.
One of the boys is now relaying the story of how they interacted with the first rescue diver sent in after they had been trapped for 10 days.
The boy says one of the first things he said to the rescuer was, "Hungry!"
ICYMI:
The boys range in age from 11 to 16 and their recovery has been positive across the board, according to the doctors present.
The boys are now standing up and introducing themselves one by one. They are giving their names, ages, nicknames, and even the positions they play in the football team.
The message is conveyed (and translated) at the press conference that the boys are healthy both mentally and physically and are ready to go home. The boys are asked if they're ready to go home, and they respond with smiles, thumbs-ups and peace signs.
The 12 rescued boys and their coach - all smiles - are now making their way into the press conference venue. (Screenshot: BBC News)
The Thai king has reportedly called for celebrations after the scheduled 45-minute press conference.
A mini soccer field being set up before a press conference with the 12 boys and their coach who were rescued after being trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand. (Vincent Thian/AP)
According to reports, the press conference with the rescued boys is scheduled to start around 13:00, SA time.
Thai cave boys leave hospital ahead of press conference - (AFP)
The footballers from the "Wild Boars" club are being discharged a day earlier than previously announced, with authorities hoping a question and answer session will satisfy – at least temporarily – the intense media speculation that has accompanied their epic underground ordeal.
The boys are due to return to their homes later on Wednesday.
"The reason to hold this evening press conference is so media can ask them questions and after that they can go back to live their normal lives without media bothering them," Thailand's chief government spokesperson Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP.
Thai cave rescue: What we know about the team and coach
A dramatic underwater mission to rescue the 12 boys and their football coach, who have been trapped inside the Tham Laung cave in northern Thailand, came to a successful end last Tuesday.
The team and their coach went missing on June 23 and were found alive more than a week later by British divers.
Four boys were rescued the previous Sunday, another four were rescued last Monday, and the remaining four boys and their coach were rescued last Tuesday.
Diver describes 'massive relief' finding trapped Thai boys in cave
The British diver who found 12 Thai boys and their coach trapped alive in a flooded cave has described his "massive relief" as he counted them one by one, in what he called an unprecedented rescue operation.
Richard Stanton, one of a pair of British caving experts who located the "Wild Boars" team, gave reporters a first-hand account of the moment he saw the boys emerge from behind a rock face onto a muddy ledge kilometres inside the Tham Luang cave.
"That was a massive, massive relief. Initially we weren't certain they were all alive - as they were coming down I was counting them until I got to 13," he said.
"We couldn't see them initially - they had to come (a)round the corner."