Two more boys brought out of Thai cave on second day of operation; 7 rescued so far

Rescue workers in Thailand brought out on Monday two more people from a flooded cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped for more than two weeks, taking the total number rescued to seven.

A Reuters witness near the Tham Luang cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai saw medical personnel carrying two people out of the cave to waiting ambulances on Monday evening.

The rescue operation was launched on Sunday and four boys were brought out that day. They and were in good condition in hospital, officials said.

A fifth boy was brought out earlier on Monday, a navy official said.

Reuters could not confirm the identity of the two people brought out in the evening and the chief of the rescue mission, Narongsak Osottanakorn, asked about the two, declined to comment, saying a news conference would be held soon.

The "Wild Boars" football team and their coach got trapped on June 23 when they set out to explore the vast cave complex after soccer practice, when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.

British divers found the 13, huddled on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometres inside the complex, on Monday last week.

The dangerous bid to rescue the boys - aged between 11 and 16 - got going again hours earlier on Monday after a break to replenish oxygen supplies and make other preparations deep inside the cave complex in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province.