CHIANG RAI (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The chief of Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district has emphasised that Thai citizenship will be granted based on the law, and no exemptions will be made for four of the footballers rescued from the cave who are stateless citizens. "I understand that society wants the rescued boys to get citizenship. But we have to comply with the law," Mae Sai district chief Somsak Khanakham said. He was speaking after news reports said some Mu Pa Academy members were stateless. The 12 footballers and their coach were stranded inside the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province for more than two weeks before a spectacular rescue operation. Somsak said the four rescued footballers who did not have Thai citizenship were coach Ekkapon Chantawongse, 25, Pornchai Khamluang, 16, Mongkol Boonpium, 13, and Adul Samon, 14. According to the Mae Sai district chief, the stateless footballers had called on him for help with their citizenship about two months ago. He said he … [Read more...] about No fast-tracking of citizenship for four rescued boys from Thai cave
Rescue boy
Thai official: Rescued boys generally healthy and smiling
Thai official: Rescued boys generally healthy and smiling Kaweewit Kaewjinda (Associated Press) - July 10, 2018 - 1:14pm MAE SAI, Thailand — 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, a senior health official said Tuesday, as rescuers prepared for a third push to bring out five still deep in the cave. Jedsada Chokdumrongsuk, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry, said the first four boys rescued, aged 12 to 16, are now able to eat normal food. 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,” Jesada said. “Everyone is in high spirits and are happy to get out. But we will have a psychiatrist to evaluate them.” It could be at least seven days … [Read more...] about Thai official: Rescued boys generally healthy and smiling
Operation to rescue boys trapped in Thai cave resumes
CHIANG RAI, Thailand: A mission to rescue a group of Thai boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand resumed on Monday, officials said, after the first four boys, rescued the previous day, were judged healthy as they recovered in hospital.The dangerous bid to rescue the boys - aged between 11 and 16 - resumed after a break on Sunday night to replenish oxygen supplies and make other preparations deep inside the cave complex in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province.Authorities have said the mission could take three or four days to complete.Multiple sources with knowledge of the operation told Reuters the operation to rescue more of the nine boys and their coach was underway, although no official confirmation was issued."The mission has resumed," a government official closely involved in the mission told Reuters, declining to be identified.The boys and their coach set out to explore the vast Tham Luang cave complex after soccer practice on June 23, and got trapped … [Read more...] about Operation to rescue boys trapped in Thai cave resumes
French family of rescued boy thanks hero Malian ‘Spiderman’
PARIS: The family of the young boy saved by "Spiderman" Mamoudou Gassama in a daring rescue that won him global acclaim and a promise of French citizenship has thanked the Malian youth for his quick thinking.Gassama, 22, scaled four storeys of an apartment bloc in France on Saturday (May 26) to rescue the four-year-old who was spotted dangling from a balcony. On Tuesday, French authorities began the first steps towards making him a citizen in recognition of his bravery.The boy's father, who had been living alone with him in Paris, had left him alone to go out to the shops and then remained on the street to play Pokemon Go, according to French investigators.The boy's mother learned the news of the rescue on Reunion Island - the French Indian Ocean territory where she and the father were born and where she still lives.Reacting to Gassama's intervention on Antenne Reunion radio late Monday, the woman, who was not identified, said: "We can only thank him and thank heaven he was so … [Read more...] about French family of rescued boy thanks hero Malian ‘Spiderman’
In ‘world first,’ Australian coast guards use drone to rescue boys caught in ocean swell
In what is being described as a “first,” lifeguards successfully deployed a drone to rescue two boys in trouble while swimming off the eastern coast of Australia Thursday.It was all a bit of serendipity, too. Members of the Australian Lifeguard Service just happened to be training with the drone — which is being developed to spot sharks — when they got word that the swimmers were having difficulty nearby as they encountered a 9-foot swell in rough surf conditions, according to the surf life-saving website in New South Wales. And the man piloting the drone at the time just happened to be Jai Sheridan, the 2017 New South Wales Lifeguard of the Year. Read more: Shopping goes high-tech … [Read more...] about In ‘world first,’ Australian coast guards use drone to rescue boys caught in ocean swell