Mae Sai (Thailand) (AFP) - Rescuers braced for a difficult evacuation for 13 members of a Thai youth football team found alive in a cave nine days after they went missing, as a phone cable was hurridly fed into the underground chambers in the hope of allowing them to speak to their families for the first time since their ordeal began.
The 12 young boys and their football coach were discovered rake thin and hungry on a mound of mud surrounded by water late Monday, ending an agonising search that captivated a nation.
