The first phase of rescuing the 12 children and their coach who were trapped in a cave in Thailand has been completed.
The rescue operation started today around 06:00 in the morning (Cyprus time), with the eyes of the whole planet focused on it.
The rescuers first mapped the area where the cave is located and created the rescue plan that they would follow to manage to get the children and their coach out of the cave.
The action plan released shows the route taken by the divers, both to reach the children and to return.
A rope was placed throughout the route, which the divers used to guide them.
The graphics show the difficulties that divers had to face, especially in the narrow passages of the cave.
Already, before the rescue operation began, international news agencies and media published videos and photos, which showed the intense mobility in the area.
The operation involved thirteen world-class specialist divers who arrived in Thailand from countries with relevant expertise in speleology and five members of the Thai Navy's SEAL unit.
Cave explorer Emily Davis said the rescuers were the best of their kind but should be on alert and reserved just in case.
A BBC report showed the conditions in the cave, while the Guardian published a video of the rescuers' efforts at the mouth of the cave.
The rescue team announced that the children and their coach would leave the cave one by one, and that this would take two to three days to complete.
"They will come out one by one, this will take two to three days," said Tsalongchai Tsayakorn, one of the officials on the crisis management team.
The children's relatives watched the rescue operation with bated breath, while thousands of social media users rushed to give courage to the children and their relatives through their posts.
The act of the grandmother, one of the children, who prayed in a small sacred temple in the yard of her house, to return her grandson back to his house was also touching.
Thirteen staffs of doctors, one for each child and their coach, were waiting ready to help outside the cave.
Each staff consists of a helicopter and an ambulance.
Reuters reported that five emergency doctors were waiting for the children at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, while another 30 doctors were on standby.
The first two children rescued
Around 14:20 noon, the first reports from the middle of Thailand, about the rescue of two children began.
Shortly afterwards, the rescue of the first two children was confirmed and the identity of the first child, 14-year-old Mongkhon Bunpiem, was made public.
Videos and photos from the shocking rescue went around the world.
The rescue of four more children
At around 15:30, Lieutenant General Kongcheep Tantrawanit told the AFP news agency:
"Four more of the boys are expected to leave the cave soon. The four children have reached the third exit stage and are expected to leave the cave as soon as possible ".
Half an hour later, the Thai Navy announced that four more children had been rescued.
In a post on their official Facebook page, they report that four members of the football team are out of the cave.
A total of six children have left the cave. There are still six left and their coach.
The next rescue operation will start within the next 10-20 hours, according to the head of the operation.
The whole planet expresses its relief for the rescue of the first six children, but also its anguish for the other children and the coach who are waiting to be saved.
The tribute to the diver who lost his life
Social media users are posting urging people not to forget Saman Gunan, the diver who died earlier this week in an attempt to transfer supplies to trapped boys.
Saman Gunan, voluntarily participated in the rescue operation of the children in the cave.