Final five trapped in Thai cave to be extracted on Tuesday: rescue chief

The rescue mission is still underway. Eight of the trapped boys have been guided to safety from the twisting, submerged passages of the Tham Luang cave in Thailand. [AFP]

Rescuers will on Tuesday extract the remaining five young footballers who have been trapped deep inside a flooded Thai cave for 18 days, the mission chief said, as heavy rains threatened their perilous escape route.

The hoped-for final chapter in an ordeal that has gripped the world comes after elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs escorted eight members of the "Wild Boars" football team out of the claustrophobic network of tunnels on Sunday and Monday.