Thai official: Rescued boys generally healthy and smiling

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.

A Thai official has said that the third rescue mission has begun as of late Monday night.
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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.
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"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 before they can be released from the hospital, Jedsada told a news conference.
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VIDEO: These are the Thai soccer players trapped in a flooded cave


Family members have seen at least some of the boys from behind a glass isolation barrier, and Jedsada said doctors may let the boys walk around their beds Tuesday.



It was clear doctors were taking a cautious approach. Jedsada said they were uncertain what type of infections the boys could face "because we have never experienced this kind of issue from a deep cave."