Thai cave to be turned into museum

A cave complex in northern Thailand where 12 boys and their football coach were trapped for more than two weeks is set to be turned into a museum, a media report said on Thursday.

Rescue officials said the museum would showcase how the operation unfolded in the Tham Luang cave, adding that it would be a "major attraction" for Thailand, reports the BBC.

At least two companies are also looking to make a film telling the story of the rescue.

The rescued group are all now recovering in hospital.

Video has been released showing them in good health, though they will stay in quarantine for a week.

The Thai Navy Seals have also published dramatic footage of the operation itself, showing how expert divers navigated the Wild Boar football team through the perilous journey to the surface.

The Tham Luang cave is one of the largest cave systems in Thailand. It lies under the mountains around the small town of Mae Sai, in northern Chiang Rai province on the border with Myanmar.

The area is largely undeveloped with only limited tourism facilities.

"The area will become a living museum, to show how to operation unfolded," Narongsak Osottanakorn, the former governor and head of the rescue mission, told a news conference.

"An interactive data base will be set up. It will become another major attraction for Thailand."

However, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said precautions would have to be implemented both inside and outside the cave to safeguard tourists, the BBC reported.

The 12 boys and their coach first made their way into the cave on the June 23, but found themselves trapped inside after heavy rains poured down and caused the cave to flood.

They were found by British divers after nine days, and were eventually rescued days after in an operation that involved dozens of divers and hundreds of other rescue workers.

--IANS

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