‘Don’t worry about us, love to all,’ Thai boys write in letters to families

Members of football team trapped in flooded cave pen short, heartwarming notes of hope to relatives as they await extraction; coach apologizes to parents for leading ill-fated hike

  • Relatives walk out from the cave complex after taking part in a prayer ceremony as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave in Thailand on July 7, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / YE AUNG THU)
    Relatives walk out from the cave complex after taking part in a prayer ceremony as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave in Thailand on July 7, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / YE AUNG THU)
  • Thai rescuers prepare to enter the cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Friday, July 6, 2018 (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
    Thai rescuers prepare to enter the cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Friday, July 6, 2018 (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
  • International rescuers team prepare to enter the cave where a young soccer team and their coach were trapped by flood waters Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
    International rescuers team prepare to enter the cave where a young soccer team and their coach were trapped by flood waters Thursday, July 5, 2018, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
  • Thai boys are with Navy SEALs, trapped inside a cave in northern Thailand, July 3, 2018. (Thai Navy Seal via AP)
    Thai boys are with Navy SEALs, trapped inside a cave in northern Thailand, July 3, 2018. (Thai Navy Seal via AP)

MAE SAI, Thailand — Scrawled deep inside a mountain in northern Thailand, heartwarming fragments of communication from trapped youngsters have reached families keeping vigil for two excruciating weeks at the entrance to the cave complex.

Players from the “Wild Boar” football team wrote short notes in the gloom, reassuring parents and relatives, making affectionate jokes and expressing hopes of being reunited in the near future.

“Love to Mum, Dad and my little brother,” reads one note from 15-year-old Phiphat Photi — who is better known as “Nick” — published along with the other letters given to a diver on Friday and released the next morning on the Thai Navy Seal Facebook page.

“If I get out, please can you bring me some grilled pork and vegetables?”

“I love you, Dad, Mum and my sister. You don’t need to be worried about me. I love everyone!” wrote Pheerapat, nicknamed “Night,” who turned 16 underground.

Another, identified as Tun, writes: “Mom and Dad, please don’t worry, I am fine. I’ve told Yod to get ready to take me out for fried chicken. With love.” The name reference could be of a waiting relative.

One boy named Mick wrote: “Don’t be worried, I miss everyone. Grandpa, uncle, mom dad, and siblings I love you all. I’m happy being here inside, the navy SEALS have taken good care. Love you all.”

In this July 3, 2018, image taken from video provided by the Thai Navy Seal, Thai boys are with Navy SEALs inside the cave, Mae Sai, northern Thailand. (Thai Navy Seal via AP)

The letters provoked a surge of emotion from families, who first endured nine long days before their children were found disheveled and emaciated but alive on Monday — and now face an agonizing wait for a dangerous evacuation.

“I am so happy to see his letter, his handwriting. I’m almost crying,” Night’s mother Supaluk Sompiengjai told AFP.

“It doesn’t matter how long I wait as long as he is safe.”

She may have some way to go.

It is still unclear how the boys will be rescued from the range of dangerous options on the table, as the country holds its breath hoping for good news.

Thai rescue workers carry equipment as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their football team coach trapped in Tham Luang cave on July 7, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / YE AUNG THU)

Teams are drilling multiple shafts through hundreds of meters of mountainside to try to reach them while industrial pumps are working round the clock in an attempt to clear the tunnels and hopefully allow them to escape by foot.

But the prospect of fresh monsoon rains and more flooding threatens to unpick the progress.

The 25-year-old coach of the footballers also sent a letter to the outside world, apologizing to the boys’ parents and thanking everyone for their moral support.

“To all the parents, all the kids are still fine. I promise to take the very best care of the kids,” his note reads, sending his love to his own family and adding how much he is looking forward to eating his aunt’s home cooking.

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