People in northern Thailand were thankful on Tuesday to hear that a mission is underway to rescue the 13 people trapped in a partially flooded cave in the region.

The 12 members of a football team - boys aged 11 to 16 - and their 25-year-old coach were found alive on Monday, more than a week after they disappeared.

They became trapped by rising flood water after entering the cave on June 23.

Rescue options are currently being considered at the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province, which stretches under a mountainside for up to 10 kilometres (6 miles).

The British Cave Rescue Council, which has members taking part in the operation, estimates the boys are around 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) into the cave and somewhere between 800 metres (half a mile) to 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) below the surface.

Other estimates put the boys as far as 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) into the cave.