Wild Boars footballers say sorry in Tham Luang cave incident

CHIANG RAI, July 19 (TNA) -- “I’m Sorry” is what the Wild Boars footballers want to tell their parents the most when they are completely regained their freedom and return home after the 17-day ordeal in Tham Luang Cave. The 12 members of Moo Pa or “Wild Boars” football team and their coach rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand spoke to the public for the first time in a press conference after being released from a hospital on Wednesday. All 13 of the missing group have been freed from the cave in the dramatic three-day rescue mission last week after being stranded inside the complex cape since June 23. Entering the conference room at a local administration office, the boys showed they had regained physical strength by demonstrating football skills. The members of Moo Pa Academy football team aged from 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old assistant introduced themselves along with the four Navy SEALs who accompanied them since they were found on July 2 until they were extracted. Sitting on two rows of chairs on stage, the conference was held as interview show with a veteran journalist Suthichai Yoon asking them questions that sent in by media organizations and screened by officials and doctors. All of them said they wanted to tell their parents that they were sorry for taking the trip and not telling them. Some of them admitted that they only asked their parents to join a practice match. They spoke of how their plan to explore the cave turned wrong, how they survived in the cave for nine days until they were discovery, the moment the British cave divers found them and so on. The first moment they realized that help arrived was when they heard English conversation. Adul, the boy who corresponded with the cave divers in English said he tried to talk in English although his brain was very slow. At first, “I didn't know what to say so I just said 'hello.'" One of the boys who reminded his friend to tell the rescuers about their hunger said he "tried not to think about food," but he thought about fried rice anyway. The group also revealed that they dug a hole to try and find a way out. They also paid tribute to former Petty Officer Saman Gunan of the Navy SEAL, who died while volunteering in the rescue operation. In front of Saman’s portrait, the boys said they would be good persons for him. “We thank you and your family. Please sleep well,” one of the boys said. Most of them maintained their goals in life to become professional footballers and some they also have newfound goal to be Navy SEAL officers. Thai Navy SEALs played leading role in the rescue since arriving at the cave on July 25. Doctors, social workers and psychologists also participated in the news conference to filter questions and ensure the boys' well-being. They were ready to go home as officials had planned to follow up on the boys’ returns to their normal daily lives. (TNA)