The first four boys of the group of 13 trapped in the cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand have been rescued safely, according to reports.

During a press conference given by the Thai authorities at about 9:00 pm, they confirmed that four boys have been evacuated safely to a hospital in Chiang Rai's city centre.

The rescue mission chief has said that the team will need "about 10 hours" to prepare for the next rescue operation.

Earlier update

In an earlier update at 8:50pm, Channel NewsAsia cited a senior member of the rescue team saying that the number of rescued boys stood at six.

By about 8:45pm Singapore time, CNA cited confirmation from the Thai Navy that three had emerged, while at about 8:23pm four boys had reached the rescue base camp set up inside the cave complex.

At about 8:00 pm Singapore time, Thai authorities spoke to Reuters and informed them of the operation's initial success.

According to Tossathep Boonthong, member of the rescue team and chief of Chiang Rai’s health department:

"Two kids are out. They are currently at the field hospital near the cave.

We are giving them a physical examination. They have not been moved to Chiang Rai hospital yet."

A Twitter user claiming to be a BBC correspondent has uploaded two videos, supposedly of two ambulances leaving the cave site:

WATCH: BBC footage of ambulance leaving cave site amidst reports first boys from trapped football team have been rescued #thamluangcave #thamluang #ถ้ำหลวง #13ชีวิตติดถ้ำ #13ชีวิตรอดแล้ว #พาหมูป่ากลับบ้าน #ThailandCaveRescue pic.twitter.com/qu441ZuiJH

— Howard Johnson (@Howardrjohnson) July 8, 2018

WATCH: BBC footage of second ambulance leaving cave site amidst reports first boys from trapped team rescued #thamluangcave #thamluang #ถ้ำหลวง #13ชีวิตติดถ้ำ #13ชีวิตรอดแล้ว #พาหมูป่ากลับบ้าน #ThailandCaveRescue pic.twitter.com/03w67yu6QZ

— Howard Johnson (@Howardrjohnson) July 8, 2018

[related_story]

The news of the rescue came at about two hours ahead of expected schedule. They were initially projected to only emerge from 9pm Thai time (10pm Singapore time) onwards.

The rescue team reportedly said that lowered water levels allowed the group to walk through some parts of the cave complex instead of diving, making those sections easier to bypass.

Rescue teams at the entrance of the cave saying the lowered water has decreased the journey out of the cave as many chambers are walk-able right now.

— Florian Witulski (@vaitor) July 8, 2018

It is likely the remaining eight boys, as well as their coach, are still on their way out of the caves.

[Editor's note: A previous version of this article cited CNA and The Guardian, which reported that six boys were successfully rescued.

Top image from MariettaPosts' Twitter page.

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