SVETLOGORSK, August 15. /TASS/. The Thai boys trapped in a cave for two weeks before being rescued on July 10 have received an invitation for a holiday at Russia’s famous international children’s center Artek on the Black Sea, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Wednesday.
"In order to help the children rehabilitate and as a reward for the will and staunchness they displayed in awful conditions, Artek Director Alexei Kasprzhak has invited the children to the camp," she said.
The diplomat said she expected "the atmosphere of Artek and hospitality of its inhabitants will help the children forget the horror they had to fight". She said all children will receive free vouchers within the framework of international quotas.
The Russian Embassy will shortly contact the Thai authorities to hand over the invitation. Zakharova also added that Artek has its own football team. "Their trip will be combined with football, which has a special place in their lives," she noted.
Twelve boys and their football coach remained trapped in Thailand’s Khao Luang cave for more than two weeks. On June 23, national park staff found a motorbike, bicycles and sports equipment near a cave entrance and contacted a local football club, which confirmed that those things belonged to 12 kids aged between 11 and 16 years and their 25-year-old coach.
The cave where the group went missing stretches almost ten kilometers, it has several entrances and exits, as well as large chambers, where the group members found shelter from the rising waters caused by a rainy season downpour.
On July 8-9, divers succeeded in evacuating eight children, who were taken to the hospital on helicopters. On July 10, rescue workers brought out the remaining four kids and the coach.