'Everybody is Doing Well': World Sees First Images of 12 Boys Recovering in Hospital After Dramatic Cave Rescue

Thailand's government released video images showing the large hospital room where 12 boys and their soccer coach are recovering after being rescued from a flooded cave.

In one room, eight of the boys can be seen in the video sitting up in bed, wearing white gowns, green surgical masks and throwing the occasional peace sign to their parents behind a glass window.

"Everyone is strong in mind and heart," said Chaiwetch Thanapaisal, director of Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, where the boys are being held in isolation for the next several days.

Officials said two of the boys had lung infections and many others were in very weak condition when they arrived at the hospital. All are expected to make a full recovery.

 "Everybody is doing well," Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong, a public health inspector, told reporters at a news conference. "No one has any serious infections," he added. "Everybody can now rest and do daily activities."

Still, out of an abundance of caution, parents are restricted from direct contact with their sons to prevent any potential infection. So for now, family members have to settle for seeing their loved ones from behind a glass window. Some of the parents can be seen crying and waving to the boys from behind the glass.

"They talked to the boys far away from them, about 2 meters (about 6.5 feet)," Thongchai told reporters Wednesday.

On June 23, the boys and their coach got trapped while on a team building exercise in Thailand's longest cave. Shortly after entering the cave, heavy rains and flooding trapped the team inside for more than two weeks. Officials said flooding conditions made rescue attempts impossible for days, leading to the death of a highly trained navy SEAL diver.

The 12 boys and their coach were finally extracted Tuesday with the help of more than 1,000 rescue experts from around the world.