The international team of divers and rescue experts desperately working to free the trapped Thai boys' soccer team from Tham Luang cave have been immortalised in a touching cartoon.
Two Thai artists, who go by the name Sisidea, crafted the cartoon which uses a collection of colourful animals to depict the ongoing efforts to free the boys.
Wild boars in the graphic represent the “Wild Boars” soccer team and their coach swimming through the submerged cavern, surrounded by white seals meant to represent the elite Thai Navy Seal team leading the rescue efforts.
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Other animals stand in for the various foreign experts assisting the operation – including a kangaroo hopping through the cavern representing the Australian contingent, a lion to represent English divers and even Marvel character Iron Man as a stand-in for.
Australia has dispatched 19 people to help Thai authorities, including six Australian Federal Police divers, a liaison officer and an interpreter. was also part of the medical team that determined the boys' fitness to undertake the arduous four-kilometre journey
The touching cartoon, which the artists’ say symbolises "taking the boars home", has been shared thousands of times on Facebook and even posted on the Thai Seals’ Facebook page after yesterday’s successful rescue operation.
AAP
Eight boys have now been recovered from the cave complex and are recovering in hospital after two days of rescue efforts.
Officials say rescuers will work to extract the four boys and coach who are still trapped inside on day three of the mission.
Here's what the cartoon means:
- Wild boars (12 small ones and one larger one): the stranded boys and their coach.
- White seals: the Thai Navy Seals leading the rescue efforts.
- White elephant: Narongsak Osottanakorn, the leader of the rescue mission.
- Frogs: cave divers.
- White horse: all the heroes who have been involved in the mission. “Everyone who participated in the mission. May not be specific Everybody is a knight.”
- Blue lion: divers from Britain and Belgium.
- Kangaroo: rescuers from Australia.
- Panda: rescuers from China.
- Crane: rescuers from Japan.
- Moose: rescuers from Sweden.
- Tiger: rescuers from Myanmar.
- Brown elephant: rescuers from Laos.
- Eagle: rescuers from the US.
- Iron Man: Businessman Elon Musk who has offered to assist with a child-sized submarine.
- Swallows: climbers from Thailand.
- Dog: a K9 unit at the scene.
- Dragon: the team drilling into the cave to pump water.
- Birds: media
- Black crow: people criticizing the mission.
