Four more boys have been safely rescued from the flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on Monday, July 9.

This brings the total number evacuated so far to eight boys.

The Thai Navy SEALs, the military unit involved in the rescue operation, confirmed the good news on their Facebook page.

2nd day of operations ended

According to news reports from CNA and ST, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told the media that the four boys rescued today are in "better conditions" than the four evacuated yesterday.

The second day of operations has ended, and rescuers have now shortened the operation time by two hours.

It was reported to have started at around 11:00 am in Thailand (12:00 pm in Singapore time).

Previously, four out of the 12 boys were rescued on Sunday, July 8, in the first rescue mission.

They are currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Chiang Rai and are said to be in good condition.

They even asked for pad kra pao, a Thai basil chicken dish.

The divers who rescued the four boys on Monday were the same as the ones who were involved on Sunday, due to their familiarity with the route.

Local media from the Thai Public Broadcasting Service have been airing footage of the rescue operations, and uploaded a video to Twitter that apparently shows the boys being airlifted by helicopters to Chiang Rai for treatment.

9 ก.ค. 61
17.10 น. - รถพยาบาลถึงจุดจอด ฮ. มีการเคลื่อนย้านเปลที่มีคนนอนอยู่และมีสายน้ำเกลือออกจากรถไปยังเฮลิคอปเตอร์

#ThaiPBS #ถ้ำหลวง pic.twitter.com/l5HfCVtoZJ

— Duangthip_ThaiPBS (@duangtip_TPBS) July 9, 2018

Divers managed to bring out the fifth boy shortly before 5:00 pm (Thai time, 6:00 pm Singapore time).

Subsequently, three more boys were brought out.

[related_story]

5 more to go

There are now four boys from the 12-member youth football team and their coach left in the cave.

It is likely that rescue operations will continue tomorrow (July 10).

Top image via Duangthip_ThaiPBS/Twitter