Timeline

23 June: The team entered the Tham Luang cave shortly after practice and prior to heavy rain. Later, the mother of one of the boys reported to local police that her son was missing after he failed to arrive home. Local police investigated and found shoes and bicycles near the entrance of the cave after rumours spread about them going into the Tham Luang cave.

24 June: Handprints and footprints of the boys were found by officials. A vigil is held outside the cave by relatives.

25 June: Thai Navy SEAL divers enter the cave to search for the team.

26 June: Having arrived at a T-junction, divers were pushed back due to floodwaters. The floodwaters blocked an elevated air pocket near Pattaya Beach, where divers believe the team may have been stranded.

27 June: British and a US military team of divers and experts were sent to Thailand to help with the search. Divers re-entered but quickly retreated due to another flooding.

28 June: Heavy rains caused the rescue operation to stop temporarily. In order to drain the water, pumps were delivered. Drones were dispatched to assist more than 600 people in search of new vents in the cave roof.

29 June: Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited the site.

30 June: The search resumed after divers took advantage of a brief pause in the rainfall. They advanced further, but still were far from where they believed the boys might be stranded.

1 July: As divers went deeper into the cave, they used Chamber 3 as an operating base to store diving cylinders and other supplies which were replenished by support divers transiting back and forth to the entrance.

2 July: The team were found alive on elevated land in the evening at around 20:20 by the British diving team, including Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, 400 m (1,300 ft) further than Pattaya Beach. Communication was difficult since only Adun spoke English.

3 July: Seven Thai Navy divers, including Doctor Pak Loharnshoon and a medic, went to deliver food, medicine and supplies to the boys, including high-calorie gels and paracetamol. Four of them, including Loharnshoon, volunteered to stay with the boys inside the cave for a week until all 12 were extracted. They would be the last people to exit the cave.

4 July: The team was taught how to use a full face diving mask and breathing apparatus. Rescue teams worked on continuing to pumping water from the cave, they had already pumped out over 30 million gallons.

5 July: The rescue was forced to move more quickly due to expected rain. Another group searched the mountains for any new cracks or openings.

6 July: Saman Kunan, a former Thai navy diver and volunteer of the rescue mission, died between 01:00 to 02:00 after losing consciousness while placing diving cylinders underwater along the route to the stranded boys. Authorities urged that the rescue happen faster, due to oxygen levels falling to 15%, well below the 21% "safe zone."

7 July: The rescue chief claimed that it was not suitable for the team to dive yet. More than 100 vents were being drilled in a third attempt to reach the team. However, an accident to a rescue vehicle injured six people, and the effort was called off.citation needed A letter appeared from the coach of the team, apologising to the boys' parents along with letters from the boys to their parents.

8 July: Thirteen international divers, led by four British and two Australian divers, and five Thai military SEALs divers went into the cave to begin bringing the boys to safety. The boys were each to be accompanied by 3 divers as they made their way out of the cave. The boys were also sedated to prevent any panic. The first boy was reported to have come out about 17:40, and the fourth one was reported to have exited about 19:50, though not all sources agree. The four boys were taken to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh, a local hospital. It was announced that divers would not resume the rescue for at least another 10 hours, as they needed to replenish supplies.

9 July: Four more boys were confirmed to be out of the cave and then taken to the hospital. It was also announced that the boys would be kept in quarantine.

10 July: The remaining four boys and their coach were rescued. It was later confirmed that all of the rescue divers had also successfully exited the cave.

December 2019: Thai Navy SEAL Beirut Pakbara dies from blood infection contracted during the cave rescue.