to squeeze in a little family time. no one has your back like american express. so no matter where you're going... we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it. good morning. i'm alex witt. the reverend al sharpton show will be again sharply. right now we're keeping our eyes closely trained on chaing rai thailand to find out what will happen to those 12 boys and their coach, the thai soccer team, boys aged 11 to 16 years old who have been stuck this 16th day being inside that cave 2 1/2 miles from the mouth, the area we're looking at right now. we had the great news at thend of last week end recovering a

location for them, knowing where they were. but it has been with bated breath we have been waiting to see what how old happen. the world has been watching as the rescue operation began about 10, 12 hours ago or so. it was a precarious situation. oxygen levels dropping to very dangerous levels inside that cave, also the threat of monsoon season beginning. there have been cloud bursts, lots of rain but then it stops. officials made the decision we've got to go in and do this now or never. they are categorizing this time right now as d kay. word is that they a team of 13 divers, experienced divers and five thai navy s.e.a.l.s that have gone in to extricate these boys one by one. it's a 2 1/2 mile long precarious route filled with danger at nearly every ebb and

turn of the way. the word is, although we don't have confirmation, that two of those boys have made it out to a waiting area. we have yet to see them. we have yet to independently confirm that. there are reports that two boys have made it out to that area. they allegedly made it to an area called staging three, cavern three from which they were supposed to be able to actually walk to take off all their scuba gear and get to the mouth of the cave to a staging area where they would be immediately treated by emergency medical operations. eventually they're going to be airlifted to a hospital. we want to go right now to jan miss mackey frayer of nbc news who is standing by at that hospital. janice, can you confirm yet, is the hospital preparing to receive at least two of those boys that were trapped? >> reporter: we don't have the official confirmation yet, alex.

there's so much speculation. the world has been staring at this cave entrance for 16 days, wondering when those boys will start to come out. we do have many of the thai sources saying two of them are beginning to be transported. to try to paent the scene around that cave entrance, when each of the boys when each of the boys is going to be brought out, there are 13 fully staffed medical teams standing by. each one of the boys and the coach is going to have their own doctor, two nurses, a paramedic, an ambulance, a helicopter. they're going to be checked for first their breathing, signs of hypothermia, a condition known as cave disease which is bacterial infection before they are prepared to be transported to hospital. this is the hospital behind us here. there's been an entire floor that's been reserved for their care. they're going to be brought here by air ambulance which will land

across the street from the hospital. once we hear those choppers, we know that d-day has at least initially been successful and seems to be unfolding a bit quicker than expected. when the governor announced and confirmed this operation did get under way at about 10:00 a.m. local time today, he said that he expected it was going to be roughly 11 hours before there was going to be news of whether the boys would be coming out. they're also being very blunt about expectations. not everyone is going to come out at the same time. they have yet to decide who is going to come out in which phase. there were medics that went in earlier today to assess the health condition of each of the boys to make sure they were up for this arduous journey. it took the divers six hours just to reach the kids. they then, of course, had to make sure their scuba gear was on properly, they had the full face masks they had been

practicing with so they can breathe in those sections that still required them to go under water. then they were going to be using something called the buddy diving system. this is where each boy would be tethered to skilled divers who would then be able to guide them through these very nice stay twisted passages that posed so much worry over the past couple weeks. the water level in the cave system had gone down considerably. about a third of the journey was said to be -- >> all right. janis mackey frayer, you're staigsed at the hospital. arizona soon as we have boys making their way there. let's go to msnbc producer stephen week. he's at the staging area at the mouth of the cave entrance. let's talk about anything you can confirm. do you know for certain two of those boys have made their way to safety?

>> alex, what i can tell you is our producer paul goldman who is closer to the mouth of the cave just reported that two ambulances did just leave the mouth of the cave. i'm standing along the highway just below the mountain range which is the highway that leads to this hospital after a long drive. we're all extremely surprised. there's palpable excitement and relief. this is happening a lot earlier than we thought and it's been such an arduous thing. i've been here for four days, spoken to some of the divers in that team. there's danish divers, finnish, australian, spanish. they're the best of the best. they're the guys that do these caves. they talked about how insanely frightening and difficult it is inside there.

currents are strong as the colorado river holds that are as wide as your shoulders, water so black they couldn't even see their own gauges. the fact that two boys are surviving this and coming out and coming out early is extremely exciting. yesterday three of the most famous monks, extremely religious buddhist country went into the mouth of the cave to bless it. there's a lot of belief in the country that because of the focus and prayer of one particular monk, that that led to the actual finding of them in the cave. so this is amazing news, alex. >> it is absolutely amazing news. i'm personally a scuba diver and i was thinking of the number of things that can go wrong just on any excursion dive that would be far less arduous than this is. regulators not working properly, having to share oxygen tanks is

a common occurrence. that in those little wedged areas you've been describing would be absolutely impossible to manage. i want to let you know in addition to nbc news' paul goldman who said he's seen two ambulances leaving, we're hearing from reuters who are saying that two kids are out, currently at the field hospital near the cave. they're being given physical examinations. they have yet to be moved to the chaing rai hospital yet. i'm going to liberally interpret that the fact that two ambulances have left with them as opposed to two helicopters leaving with them, it will certainly take a little longer to get to the chaing rai hospital than it would in a helicopter. that has got to bode well, got to be interpreted as some good news that those first two boys who emerged successfully from the cave are in decent health in order to sustain the car journey versus a flight journey to get

to the hospital. the concerns from those that were treating them, stephen, are what? you mentioned malnutrition, dehydration. there's got to be a pretty severe emotional component, being in the dark for so many days until they were discovered. i've read about those caught in caves that hear a drip, drip, drip and that kind of house an ominous sound over time. caves obviously having water dripping from various parts of their ceilings. what are the gravest concerns right now about their health situation, stephen? >> the psychological component. i'm standing with the crowd. i want to refer you to the present. we did see one ambulance and i see a helicopters in the sky. there's a lot of excitement in the crowd. as you mentioned, the fact that they weren't rushing them by helicopter maybe was something. we don't know for sure. however, i can tell you from

talking to the divers that went in and really the divers are pretty much the rock stars of this story. the divers were saying it was a 90-minute hike just to get to the mouth of the water where you dive into. that walk itself with scuba gear and going up and down and around was so exhausting that the divers would sit for 45 minutes before entering the water because their heart rate was so strained by having to do that hike. the sfakt these kids were able to, even just come all the way out means they're in better shape than we thought. as we saw in the pictures, they're skinny, they haven't had real food. they sat in the dark by themselves for ten days. that in itself was amazing. we had heard the coach and two of the kids were doing more

poorly than the others. the oxygen level went down to 15%, something like at the top of everest or something, you can sit there but you don't have enough air to move around. out can't do any physical effort. when the rain started this afternoon which is the big concern, the hour lis for the rain said it was going to go to 80% rain. then it eased pell off and went up and down with showers. again, the psychological concerns are going to be huge. there have been other cave experts, people who had been trapped themselves in the past who talk about how rough that is. but right now i think the power of positive thinking around the world and positive buddhist prayer in this country here as long as the good wishes and the focus of the entire world seem to be paying off. >> indeed, stephen weeke.

do stand by. we have nbc's bill neely standing by. i know you've been following this story from the start. talk about where things stand right now and the emotion running through the crowd, the fact that two of those 13 are o out. >> reporter: we did know this was d-day for the rescue. those are the words of the rescue commander. what we didn't know was that freedom day was going to come so quickly. just about 15 minutes ago just along the jungle track, two ambulances gradually and slowly came down with we believe one boy inside each ambulance. the police chief has just confirmed that the first two boys have been freed from that ca cave. but right now, right below me there may be other boys wading or walking, perhaps diving in the murky waters of that cave

system. we understand they're going to take them out in groups of two and that this is an operation that could take up to 24 hours. what happened about nine hours ago is that a group of 18 divers, 13 of them international and five thai navy s.e.a.l.s went into the cave complex, and ten divers made it to the boys' cave. those are the ten divers bringing them out. we don't know exactly how that is happening, but the boys will be going along a guide rope line. they will have a diver beside each one of them. there are three miles of oxygen lines right through that cave complex. so they will be, if you like, well chaperoned. but this is an extremely dangerous operation. they will be walking and wading through exactly the same route

that a thai navy diver took when he collapsed and died through lack of air. if it can happen to him, a highly traned, highly experienced man, what about these boys? the youngest of whom is just 11 years old. we understood just before the rescue was launched that the doctors were briefing the divers about who should come out first, and the strong indication was that the strongest of the boys would be the first to leave, but we haven't had that confirmed. we don't know if it's the strong first or the oldest first. remember, of course, there is one adult with them, that is their assistant soccer team coach. the commander began this operation with really dramatic words. he said if we don't start the rescue on the best day, we may lose this window. no day is better than this one, so we have to act now. this is d-day. the reason it's d-day, first of all, falling oxygen levels.

the oxygen in our air we normally breathe is at 21 prls. it had gone down in the cave complex to 15% which means it was getting similar to what mountaineers experience, let's say, on mt. everest. very, very thin air and the possibility that the body weakens quite suddenly. you might not even know it. so falling ouks general levels were a real health concern. the other thing was falling rain. a few hours ago there was an immense cloud burst here that immediately flooded the area around me. so that kind of rain water going into the cave complex would undo all the work of pumping that water out they've been doing over the last couple days. this was kind of a red line for the rescue commander. he thought it has to be now, so press the green light. there are american divers involved, lots of international

divers, australians, chinese divers and we believe that a british team may be at the very apex of the system trying to get those boys out. so, as i say, just within the last 20 minutes we believe two boys in ambulances, they've gone to a hellipad and will be taken to the nearest hospital. every few hours we think boys will be taken up through the cave complex out of here and on their way to the hospital. back to you. >> it is extraordinary to have these two out. we have to keep in mind there are 11 yet remaining there. of course, thoughts and prayers for these kids, that they get out safely, the coach as well. let's go to gary shindal. gary is a cave expert. gary, i know you're joining me to talk about what the environment is like there in these caves. we've heard it described as very, very precarious. 2 1/2 miles long.

really almost nearly impossible to maneuver in some parts. talk about your experience with caves, the challenges of extricating these kids specifically? >> it's an extremely difficult situation, like you say. most cavers do not deal with actually diving. it's such an extreme specialty. the cave diving section contains a number of cave divers. but most cavers do not cave dive. again, it's an extreme specially even among divers. for exam, you have to be able to deal with redundant equipment. you have to be able to deal with zero visibility. you have to be able to maintain a pretty cool company or underneath a confined space. you may deal with currents, you may deal with tight spots, et cetera.

this is an extreme cave dive even for extremely experienced cave divers, bringing the kids out through that i'm sure is extremely difficult. >> i want to remind all of our viewers that they ought to be watching the reverend al sharpton in "politics nation," but we've decided to go with breaking news. we'll wait for the rev to join us in a bit if we have time for it. the chal lngs inside the cave, darkness has to be one of them. what about the echoing, the ominous sounds and the lasting effect that might have on the psyche of people trapped in caves for some time, geary? >> they're not experienced cavers and not used to being in that environment for any length of time. they've spent a great deal of time in the cave and i'm sure it's been psychologically very

taxing on them. hopefully as young kids they'll be able to get help to deal with that issue. i'm sure there will be long-term issues they may deal with. yes, entrapment, they've been stuck, i suspect they spent a great deal of time in the dark before the cave divers were able to reach them and, of course, nine days without food. it looks like from what we've seen, and we've been watching it closely, the tie government and rescuers have done basically every option they can look at and think of. they've done it concurrently, hoping one would play out better than the other. they've done an exceptional job in very, very difficult conditions. >> geary, thank you for sharing what you know about the caves. we have nbc's bill neely joining us once again from that staging area in chaing rai. two are out. that has been confirmed. we have yet to hear officials

speak about it. that will come at 8:45 eastern time, some 2r5 minutes from now, approximately, a news conference. let's talk about what happens next. there's got to be a lot of joy. i'm sure the two families of those kids have been contacted at this point. but there are another 11 waiting with bated breath to find out what happens. how long will this continue? bill, i know -- can you hear me now? >> yeah, i can hear you. >> it's alex here. how long will this continue? you said some 24 hours. put that in n co-text with the rains, the falling oxygen levels. what kind of challenges are we looking at? all right, everybody. we're having technical difficulty with bill neely. stephen weeke, if you're still on the phone, nbc news producer there along the highway where the boys are driving along to get to the chaing rai hospital,

what i was asking bill neely, do you have a sense of how long this operation can continue until its completion and the kinds of challenges they're looking at before getting this all wrapped up? >> initially the divers were we speaking to who were doing the early runs to lay down the cable and lay down the oxygen tanks, they were saying it was taking six hours to go out and five hours to come back. so it was an 11-hour round trip, and that the going out was against the current which was pushing at you with this blackwater in the cold and the dark, so it was really hard going. however, yesterday, the ones who went in said the pumping had done some good and that actually some of the chambers and some of the tunnels had more air in them, they weren't water all the

way up, which means they don't have to be on scuba the whole time. they can go up and take some air from the surface which also -- which also is a psychological benefit for the newbie and it concerns the oxygen. if that trip has been reduced, that five-hour return that the pros were doing or if it's still five hours and they're doing them in sets of two, there's north korean more people to go. so that's five more sets of two people, 25 hours or something like that. >> actually 11 more people to go. we hope it's nine very soon. what is the rain forecast there, stephen? monsoon season is just upon us. how does it look today, in the next 24 hours which is crucial. >> i haven't checked in the last few minutes. i have been checking all the way up until this started this

morning and what made it so ominous was the fact that starting at 1:00 p.m. today all the which until thursday, sunday to thursday, five days, it never dropped -- the percentage of rain never dropped below 50%. starting today in the afternoon it was saying 80%, then going down. then through the night going up to 90%. we' we're sort of getting a break from the weather gods, if you will. we had a few harsh downpours. when it comes down, it's monsoon. it comes down so hard, but now it's been dry for many hours. so maybe that forecast is off a little bit, but that was the driving pressure behind them, the fact they had finally gotten the water levels down after days and days and days of pumping which initially felt like it wasn't doing much good. but it turned out that it was. the fear then that all of a

sudden, if it really was the forecast that we had of full-on monsoon-type rain, there could have been a ton of fresh water rushing into the cave, alex. >> absolutely complicating things and making matters much worse. okay. talk about the numbers of people working on this. it is quite extraordinary, stephen, as we look at video of what's going on inside that cave. the numbers of people, the wiring, the funneling of oxygen in the in there. they've set up an operation that's extraordinary in its detail, very, very complex. how many people have been working on this if you can estimate that? >> i'd have to say it's hundreds of thousands. when i first got here, i got here from three planes, a pickup truck and road on the back of a

vespa and found this giant camp with 200 media, 200 support people and then hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, cops, divers, support people and amazingly through the heat, 90 degrees, 90% humidity, all these people, mud, this crowd. the people in this country are so polite, these thai people, all these people shoulder to shoulder in the heat, there was no tension. nobody had a bad word. it was an amazing scene to see that many people. they were cooking. in these giant woks they were cooking 24/7 to feed all these people, including the press, all these soldiers, divers, police. it was just incredible. this went on 24/7 inside the cave system which is three miles

from the mouth to where the kids were. constantly. it was a narrow road up there, covered with mud half the time. trucks bringing up oxygen tanks all the time, bringing up rice, bringing up food, bringing up people from these different units. the americans are here, the aussies are here, the danes, the fins t brits. the brit who found him i heard was 70 years old. he's not even here. that in itself is amazing. it's incredible. >> i think incredible actually is the word. it's hard to believe that these boys after the 16th day, at least two extricated successfully from this cave. stephen stand by. i'll be joined by dr. natalie aczar, nbc medical correspondent. let's get to what the biggest

concerns are. if you're in that initial staging area where there's a makeshift medical triage sterp set up, what's the first thing you need to look for in treating these boys? >> the first thing, alex, they're going to make sure is physically they're well enough to be transported to the hospital where the more indicate assessment of their nutritional status is going to take place. the first things will be the basics, airway, blood pressure, temperature. after that they'll be transferred to the hospital, then more deeply, are there any infections? we heard correspondents talking about concerns of caves disease which is a fungal infection in addition to drinking contaminated water. and how jing jerly they have to start reintroducing solids. by the way, there's a whole field of medicine dedicated to

how this is done, so the experts on hand. i should say after they're assessed and hopefully physically well enough to survive, then is going to come the hard part. i don't think we can underestimate the psychological impact this has had on the boys which will be more long lasting in terms of intervention and caution and things like that. >> you can certainly imagine. natalie, i want to let everybody know we're keeping our eye on the chaing rai hospital. jan miss mackey fry is saying she's seeing or at least hearing helicopters in the air. that's good news. as soon as we can get to her, we'll get an update on that front. the long-term psychological damage, it has been reporting, that kids will be more resilient to this. they may have looked at this as something of an adventure. god willing they were not told

of the death of the thai diver. that would be something that might weigh heavily on them. the fact is these kids, if the successful outcome is there for all of them and they don't lose one of their mates, if you will, that they will be more resilient perhaps in recovering from this? would you agree with that or do you think there's potentially lingering side effects from this? >> what's interesting about this is i would be misspeaking if i said i would be an expert on how children survive a trauma like this. what we were speaking about weeks ago about separation of children from their parents. yes, we talk about the resilience and plasticity of children and i think there's certainly truth to that, that they maybe couldn't imagine what the most dire consequences could have been the way an adult would. so they're not sort of living in

a fantasy that something like that could happen, but having said that, the fear, the uncertainty, the treacherous trips back, i think experts would probably agree these kids need to be monitored very carefully to make sure, especially all the seens and symptoms of ptsd i think should linger for some time with these boys. definitely something i think all of us will be newly understanding. >> natalie, as we remind viewers, it's 8:30 in new york. the reverend al sharpton will be appearing with "politics nation." he's standing by and will join us if we're able to bring him on board in the next half hour or so. i just want to talk about, natalie, with these kids, merely one, two days ago there was such grave concern about their condition. they said they were malnourished, they were weak.

there was concern whether they would be able to make this. they cannot swim, any of them. what they've taught them to do is how to use the masks and regulators and learn how to breathe that way. so what do you changed? do you think it was one of these, we have to go now, we have to make this our best shot? or is it possible that these kids had the kind nutrition brought in in these plastic tubings brought in by the divers and they were able to get themself ready to go for something like this? we're getting live pictures along the roadway. is it just they had to go no matter what? >> i think so. based on everything i've been hearing the last couple days, obviously they're anticipating a significant amount of rain coming very soon. i think they were saying today or tomorrow and locally there and that those rising floodwaters would pose such a significant threat i think they

felt the urgency to do something now. i don't think there's even in the best-case scenario with all the proper preparations, i don't think you can prepare young children for something like this. the human can survive for quite a bit of time without food. water is, of course, the thing that is most essential. the fact they were able to provide them with even some nourishment along the way would hopefully imply that they're well enough to make this journey. they're being escorted, not obviously swimming. again, not my area of expertise, but the issue of them scuba diving and all the training that goes into that that they will not be able to do, the danger is sort of lurking. >> natalie, stand by. we're going to go to janis mackey frayer. >> reporter: there's an entire floor reserved for their care.

they've already been checked over by a full medical team at the cave entrance, a doctor, two nurses, paramedics. they were looking first for the health of their breathing, then looking for signs of hypothermia. this flood water has been freezing. most of them bare food for the better part of 16 days. they're also looking for signs of pneumonia perhaps, cave disease, before bringing them here to hospital. they're also going to be taking very good care of their psychological health. they've been sitting in the dark for 16 days. they've been afraid. they've been wanting to be reunited with their parents. it appears with this operation under way these boys are finally coming home. >> all right, natalie. i hope you heard janis mackey frayer through the phone line. one thing she brought up was the darkness. i'm curious about after 16 days of all darkness, except for head

lamps brought in periodically, what kind of adjustment does that call for when the kids get out and they have to adjust to the light, the dark outside. will that take some time as well? >> you know, i have a feeling in terms of their rhythms, what's day and what's night, and the potential effects it has on them hormonally and physiologically, i think all of those things with the proper guidance and control, that's probably the least of their concerns other than shielding their eyes when they come out. >> we talk about the food. i'm sure you heard the reports of the letters that the kids were writing back, expressing optimism and telling their families that they love them and they would be okay and couldn't wait to see them soon, asking their teachers not to give them a lot of homework, but perhaps the one common thread beyond all

that was that these kids wanted to get back and have their favorite foods including crispy pork and fried chicken. it was rather charming to hear what they were longing for. they can't just jump at that, can they? is this the kind of thing where they have to do this slowly or can they have a meal brought to them immediately, what they want? what's the best physiologically for them? >> there's something called refeeding syndrome where you do too much, too quickly of the wrong types of foods and individuals who haven't been having well-balanced or enough protein, for example, for some bit of time. again, this is sort of the experts who deal with managing individuals who are malnourished know exactly how to do this. they have to take a look at their chemistry and see what their nutritional status is and check for all micronutrient efficiencies and supplement low

slowly and properly. they will be able to enjoy their favorite food, but maybe not right away. >> we're joined once again by janis mackey frayer. we've been watching you do live reports there along the route. we saw a number of ambulances and other cars escorting what we believe are two boys. what can you confirm for us? >> reporter: we can confirm the two ambulances did come down this street. this is the hospital behind us where an entire floor has been reserved for the care of these 12 boys and the coach. what's happening is the helicopters are landing at thend of this street. it's been closed off. most of this area has been closed off and they're driving them to the hospital. they've already been checked out. those en nishl signs, trying to check their breathing, signs of hypothermia, cave disease, and then they will -- they were then put into ambulances, then helicopters and eventually

brought here. what officials have been saying about the pace of this operation is that the boys may not all come out at once, but definitely a lot of positive news and a lot of good feelings here seeing these first two boys coming out. >> i know we're expecting a news conference in about ten minutes or so from thai officials. we don't know whether that news conference will be conducted in thai or english. we'll do our best to bring you all the details. i guess janis has dropped off. i'll go back to stephen weeke, nbc news producer there. my question to janis is whether or not we know if the families have been taken to the hospitals, to await the arrival of their children, maybe the first two. it is, as you described earlier, going to be quite some time until all 13 have been extricated from that cave. do we know where those families are? >> well, we do know throughout

the five days leading up here, they were all inside a small room in the small building that's attached to the visitation center for the cave system. this is a restricted area, but they were in there lying on mats. we also know the family -- the authorities and the governor, ex-governor who was running this operation went to the families before this started to get permission from all of them to do it because this is an operation that could endanger their lives. they might not make it. they got permission from all the parents. parents have been very, very close to this thing. and i would have to believe the parents of the two boys that came out were right there and riding with them. that's my suspicion, and the rest are waiting with bated breath. >> you can about imagine. as a parent, i would be right

where i was supposed to be to receive my child. stephen, thank you for jumping in there. i'm going to get back to janis mackey frayer right now who we've reconnected with. janis, i was asking stephen about the two families. the presumption is the two families of the boys taken out are at that hospital. do you know where they are? >> reporter: they are likely with the boys. parents had been informed, as stephen mentioned, by the governor and rescue officials. everybody was prepared for this to happen and everybody said yeah, let's do it. so the expectation was that all of the relatives were going to be there at the cave entrance where many of them have been holding vigil for the last 16 days. they were then moved to be in a position so that perhaps their faces were the first ones that these boys would see when they were coming out. the letters that were exchanged in the last couple of days really were a reminder of how young these boys are.

they were sending their messages of love and reassurance and requests for their favorite foods and trying to sound stoic. to imagine what the scene must have been with the reunions between the boys and their parents woup p would have been quite spectacular. there are still 11 more who need to come out, 11 more boys and the coach. there's the expectation this could happen slowly, that this first part of the operation happened a little bit faster than what was expected and perhaps they're going to want to harness that momentum, but they do want to take this slowly. not all of the boys are in the best shape. there are some that were considered a bit weak and malnourished, the coach among them. they do want to exercise the caution that is wanted here in carrying out this operation, but definitely a positive momentum

that must be boying the teams of divers going in and out of this cave system over the past several days trying to prepare for this moment. alex? >> extraordinary heroes, those divers. risking their lives. one having tragically lost his life while trying to set everything up to bring those boys home. as we approach 8:41 on the east coast. we're breaking in with the breaking news into "politics nation." the reverend al sharpton should be appearing at this hour. we are going to take a short break. we hope to have a news conference shortly, perhaps on the other side of this short break and getting all the word, official word from the thai officials. stay with us. we'll be right back with more. better than any other vehicle in its class, according to alg. better than rav4. better than grand cherokee.

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welcome back. i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters. at 8:a45 a.m. on the east coast. what you're saying is the chaing rai hospital where we know two members of the soccer team have made it. we've been watching the bated breath for the last 16 days. the operation started in earnest about a dozen hours ago. it took divers approximately six hours to reach those boys, then turn around with them and make an approximately five-hour run

back. that was the estimate. it would seem their success to bringing these first two boys out beat the expectations which is remarkable in itself, given that these kids don't know how to swim. they have been taught over the last few days how to breathe with diving masks and regulators on their back, how to go single file through dark, deep, curvy, narrow passageways with one diver in front of them and one diver in back. it is a very brave extrication on behalf of all of those divers as well as those kids who said we are going to get out of there alive and the great news on this sunday morning is two of those kids have made it out safely. nbc's bill neely has been on location. he describes this as being a situation where they plan to bring out two people at a time. again, there are 13 total. the one coach who is about 25 years old and those dozen boys between the ages of 11 and 16.

with we don't know the order in which they're being brought out, whether it's the strongest first, the weakest first. we have no idea whether someone volunteered to make this perilous journey first before anybody else. they will be pulled out. it's probably going to take, given the vast amount of time to get in and out safely. this may be about a 24-hour vigil everyone, to get the remaining 11 out of there. i will say and i'll attribute sky news as we're carefully watching all the twitter feeds, any facebook postings, anything we can do from the hundreds of journalists there on the ground outside the mouth of that cave, sky news is reporting that a third boy is now almost out of the cave, a fourth boy is on route. that would keep certainly with what nbc news has been reporting, that they're coming out in pairs. we have a description of the last 45 minutes or so, they'll

have to literally walk out of the cave. that would make sense because when these kids went into the cave on a saturday two weeks ago, they were going in to just explore. you can about imagine how much they would have gone in were they to come across very narrow waterways, they wouldn't have gone in. this 2 1/2 mile journey must have been the mouth of that cave, very large, cavernous, able to explore, from area three, from there they walk out of the cave. from sky news, a third boy is almost out of the cave, presumably walking out on his own accord, a third boy on route. let's go to nbc's janis mackey frayer. you have described the chaing rai hospital as having an entire floor dedicated to just the recovery operations for all of these kids. do you know what kind of medical officials are on standby?

i would imagine all types of specialists have to be there, to include psychiatric specialists. >> reporter: there there be a range of services because the boys will have a range of needs. they'll be checking for signs of hypothermia, checking their breathing. they'll be making sure their nutrition will be put back on track after having so little food for over a week. they're also going to be looking at things like cave disease which is a bacterial infection which can be fatal if it goes untreated. so they're really going to be taking a very long, hard look at all of the things that could be affecting these kids, especially their emotions. you have to think that these kids were sitting there in the dark for a full week before those two british divers popped in and asked how many of them were there. and then there were the days that followed when divers and

officials and rescue specialists were trying to figure out how they were going to get these kids out. so they have been sitting there waiting patiently, thinking about their families, worrying about their we have the letters over the last couple of days that revealed how young these kids are. to think what that reunion would have been like. all of the families waiting to see the boys and waiting to make the connections and take them home. alex? >> okay. it's 7:50 in the evening there, in thailand. we've been waiting for a news conference, which is scheduled to get under way any time. we're keeping a close eye on that. i would like to go right now, my thanks to you right now, janice, to a national cave rescue commissioner, joining us via skype here from the u.s. i'm sorry if i didn't pronounce

your name correctly. you know all too well the challenges that have been facing these kids. two are out safely. another 11. how would this change given the conditions? >> it is a race against the clock because the thing that is making this as easy as it is, and when i say it's easy, it's relatively easy, compared to when the british divers first went into the cave. it is significantly easier when that happened. it is still not a simple process. but it's made easier by the fact that the water has been pumped down to the degree that it has. and the people have modified the cave, inside the cave, using small handheld drills and power tools that they can enlarge some of the smaller places that are above the water.

that has made it simpler. but it's not a simple thing. we are not out of danger yet. i'm jubilant that we've gotten the ones out that we have gotten out. and the ones that have reported the one past the sump, where the places are filled with water, but until they are past those points, i'm still -- i'm cautious ly optimistic. >> i'm letting everyone know, that i'm quoting reuters. reuters is reporting that six boys have exited the thai cave. this is according to a senior member of the medical center. they go to an emergency triage situation that's been set up to get a helicopter to the chiang rai hospital. if six boys have exited that cave, that's got to be extraordinarily good news. we were looking at maybe a

24-hour rescue operation from start-to-finish, from the first of thewater levels have been successfully reduced, it's potentially weak kids but making the way back out the same way they came in. many would be able to walk a good portion of that. would you agree with that? >> well, it's not like walking on a sidewalk. you're talking about walking over large boulders with slippery mud. they're wet. it's not a simple process to walk out. i would guess they're being assisted out, through some of the more difficult areas. and the areas where you might have to climb, vertical in nature, are being hauled up or down in those, which would make it substantially faster. a lot of the kids have last weight because of the nine days without food. a diver who is used to carrying 80 to 100 pounds of dive gear,

carrying a 60-pound kid, it's realtively easy with all of the dive gear. i would guess they're being carried out for a fair portion of that. they're making some of it on their own, as well. that's important for a long-term recovery psychologically. >> in just a few words, can you tell me, if the monsoon rains pick up as are predicted, which is possible, how much does that change everything on a dime? >> i don't think it's going to change so rapidly. the dive crew and the crew in the cave, had a plan and executed it. so far, it's working very well. we want to wait until everybody's out before we say it's executed perfectly. i think giving the time freedom they're dealing with and getting the schedule out as quickly as they have, i'm getting

optimistic. >> aren't we all? thank you for joining in, you being the national cave rescue commissioner there. want to let all of you know that nbc news has yet to confirm this independently. we're getting good news from reuters, saying six boys have exited that cave. they're attributing that to a senior member of the medical rescue team. we're going to take a short break and be right back with more of this compelling and heartwarming and thrilling story about the rescue of these boys from that cave in thailand. (♪) okay you gotta be kidding me. hold on, don't worry, there's another way. directions to the greek theater. (beep) ♪can i get a connection? ♪can i get can i get a connection?♪ ♪ohhh can i get a connection? ♪trying find the old me

welcome back, everyone, as we approach 9:00 a.m. on the east coast, it's 8:00 p.m. in chiang rai thailand. the eyes of the world has been watching right here, the two families of the two boys that have been made it out that cave. they've gotten triage from the medical personnel. they get to a medical pad and get escorted by ambulance to the chiang rai hospital. the world has been watching all of this unfield it's where the boys of the soccer team and

their coach has been trapped for 16 days. we're hearing via roeuters thati have have gotten six boys from the cave. let's play back what chuck and todd decision cuss iscussed. >> it is freedom time for two boys. a short time ago, two ambulances came through that darkness along a rutted jungle path. one boy in each ambulance. they are the first of the 13 to be free. they've been helicoptered by a yeesh opt, and each are looked like from a separate medical team. the commander launching that