Thai boys were passed 'sleeping' through cave, says diver

He said they survived by drinking clean water dripping into the cave.

The catchphrase "Hooyah" was trending on Twitter after Thai Navy SEALs used it repeatedly on their Facebook page as a rallying cry during the operation.

The boys would have to stay in hospital for up to 10 days, hospital director Chaiwetch Thanapaisal told the news conference.

Their coach, Ekapol Chantawong, reportedly refused to eat any of this food so the boys would have more for themselves, leaving him the weakest when divers eventually found the team on 2 July. They had been exploring the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in northern Thailand on June 23 when heavy rains and rising floodwaters blocked the team's path, leaving the group unable to get out.

The video shows the boys chatting with nurses and making two-finger victory signs.

Getting them out - which involved teaching boys as young as 11 who were not strong swimmers to dive through narrow, submerged passages - proved a monumental challenge.

"The entire team, which went missing last month and was trapped in the cave for more than two weeks, was successfully extracted from the cave on Tuesday after multiple days of underwater rescue operations". On Tuesday, the final four boys and their coach were guided out of the cave. "We had to be confident first".

As of press time, the first eight boys to emerge from the cave were in relatively good health but still in hospital.

Thailand's public-health ministry's permanent secretary, Dr. Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, said the boys were wearing protective sunglasses because their eyes had to adjust to light after having spent so long in the dark cave, The Straits Times reported.

Officials plan an interactive museum at the Tham Luang cave based on the historic rescue mission that will feature items such as clothing that key rescuers wore during the operation, Narongsak said. He also acknowledged the loss of a former navy SEAL, Saman Kunan, who died last week while replenishing air tanks inside the cave. "Such a handsome moment - all freed, great job!"

With the World Cup reaching its climax, Federation Internationale de Football Association invited the Wild Boars to attend Sunday's final in Moscow between France and the victor of Wednesday's England-Croatia match.

One of soccer's most popular teams, Manchester United, expressed its relief over the rescue and invited the boys and their coach, as well as those who saved them, to come see the team play on their home ground this season. "The next step is to make sure those kids and their families are safe because living in a cave has a different environment, which might contain animals that could transmit any disease", a hospital statement said.

Their image of animals working their way through a cave filled with water has 13 boars representing the boys and coach of the Wild Boars football team.