First four trapped boys saved from Thai cave

The boys were discovered by British divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen on Monday.

Of the 13-strong foreign dive team - mainly from Europe - three escorted the children, while the remainder were positioned along the dangerous first kilometre stretch, where the boys had to navigate through submerged passageways in some places no more than two feet (0.6 metre) wide.

The area outside the Chiang Rai hospital was cordoned off by police. Down the street, vendors were told by loud speaker to "keep off the road" and to "not obstruct the transfer mission".

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of the military junta that seized power in 2014, planned to visit the cave site on Monday, a government spokesman said.

His visit with relatives and rescue officials last week was criticised by some Thais as opportunistic as his government faced pro-democracy protests in the capital Bangkok in recent months.