Tributes Continue To Pour In After Successful Rescue Of "Wild Boars"

By Haikal Mohd isa BANGKOK, July 12 (Bernama) – Hours after helping "Les Bleus" to 2018 World Cup Final in Russia, Paul Pogba dedicated his team’s 1-0 win over Belgium in the semi final to the 13 "Mu Pa" (Wild Boar) footballers who were rescued from Tham Luang cave Tuesday night. French midfield maestro, Pogba was among a handful of footballers, celebrities, world leaders and other prominent people from around the world who congratulated the successful mission in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. "This victory goes to the heroes of the day, well done boys, you are so strong,” said the Frenchman, who now played with Manchester United in his Instagram post and accompanied it with a picture of the 12 "Wild Boars". He continued with "My thoughts are with the boys in Thailand" in French. Former England and Manchester United legend, David Beckham who was a regular visitor to Thailand also expressed his delight with the rescue of the boys and their coach after 17 days trapped inside the flooded cave complex. He also paid tribute to former Royal Thai Navy's SEAL diver the late Sgt Saman Kunan who lost his life while helping out in the rescue operation. "So pleased to hear the news from Thailand. These boys are heroes, as is the coach, the men and women who risked their lives rescuing them and the incredible Saman Kunan. Such a positive, uplifting story,” he said. Hollywood actor Josh Brolin also included a hashtag #ripsamankunan in his tweet after the boys were rescued as a tribute to the former Navy’s SEAL diver. Poland and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski in his Tweet was so proud that the "team" (Wild Boar Football Team) won their "most important" match last night, referring to their rescue after 17 days trapped inside the cave. American space entrepreneur Elon Musk who flew to Thailand yesterday with a mini-sub he developed to help in the rescue operation tweeted, "Great news that they made it out safely. Congratulations to an outstanding rescue team!." His mini-sub named "Wild Boar" was not used during the rescue operation. United States’ President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as well as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also praised the successful rescue operation last night. -- BERNAMA