First boy extracted in Thai cave rescue named - 'I just heard his name, Mongkhol, and I was happy enough'

The first boy freed in the Thai cave rescue operation that begun last night has been named as 14-year-old Mongkol "Mark" Boonpiam.

The reports from a local Thai media outlet, The New York Times, and The Guardian, say Boonpiam's mother, Namhom, learned he had been freed from updates on social media.

"I just heard his name, Mongkhol, and I was happy enough," she told the Guardian.  

Namhom, along with many of the other parents of the trapped boys, was sleeping at the cave site in Mae Sai.

Mongkol "Mark" Boonpiam sent a note home to his parents last week which said: "Are you ok at home mum? Please tell my teacher. Love you mum."

With the operation beginning last night, rescuers in northern Thailand extracted early this morning (NZT) four members of a youth football team from the cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks.

Emergency vehicles were seen arriving at a hospital in Chiang Rai this morning, though there was no official announcement of who they were carrying.

Helicopters and several ambulances were seen departing from the cave area, amid an ongoing operation to rescue the boys and their coach.

Officials had said earlier that helicopters were on standby to take anyone rescued from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province to a hospital.

The operation to rescue the boys, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach by having them dive out of the flooded cave began on Sunday morning (local time), with expert divers entering the sprawling complex for the complicated and dangerous mission.

Shortly before 2am NZT, the Thai navy SEALs reported on their official Facebook page that four had been rescued.

The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said army Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam.

The next phase of the operation is scheduled to start this afternoon or evening NZT.