16 days. we're hearing via roeuters thati have have gotten six boys from the cave. let's play back what chuck and todd decision cuss iscussed. >> it is freedom time for two boys. a short time ago, two ambulances came through that darkness along a rutted jungle path. one boy in each ambulance. they are the first of the 13 to be free. they've been helicoptered by a yeesh opt, and each are looked like from a separate medical team. the commander launching that operation, with a team of 18

divers in all, five crack thai navy s.e.a.l. divers and 13 international divers. it was ten divers that got to the boy's cave. they are taking them out two-by-two. and there may be several hours between each set coming out. they waited and walked and we believe they dived, as well, through the murky waters of that cave complexiplecomplex, which a death trap. through those waters, a navy diver collapsed and died. if it could happen to him, it would happen to any one of these boys. we don't know which came out first, the oldest or the strongest. but medical teams were assessing the health of these boys. they were fully briefed before this began. and each one of them gave their

conse consent. they were clean to get out. and the commander launched this operation with dramatic words. we may lose the window. this is d-day. and the reason they acted right now was two reasons. falling oxygen hell alevels. it was like the cave system on a high mountain range, like everest. the air was getting thinner and thinner. that would weaken everyone in this cave complex. the seconds thing was the rain. we were in a torrential downpour and there was a red line between the amount of rain falling and the water they could pump out of there. the commander decided the red line had been reached. bethink below me, where i'm

standing now, boys are wading, even diving through the murky water. this is an extraordinary operation. nothing like it has been attempted anywhere at any time. fingers crossed, 2 out, 11 to go. >> that was bill neely on location at chiang rai. let's go to steven weeks. we know this is a long extra kags p extrication process. >> i can tell you that the royal thai navy s.e.a.l.s are reporting on the facebook page that at 19:47, 8:47 p.m., the fourth wild boar is out of the cave. the children are from a team

that are wild boars. they are confirming the fourth child is out of the cave as of 19:47. this is the official facebook page who are of the thai navy s.e.a.l.s. >> i think the kids may appreciate that once they find out what has happened. it's good we know for sure, four. they will spend time at the rescue and recovery center, that triage operation and make their way to the chiang rai hospital. right now, thank you, steven for that. we will get back to you in a bit. we appreciate the confirmation of the fo4 of the 12 team membe. the coach will be coming have you seen any indication

that more than just the two are on the way at this point? what can you tell us? >> we've actually seen ambulances on the way. i've seen about four logistic ambulances leaving, and a helicopter, that is the first to make it out of the cave. a lot of activity between the highway to chiang rai's airport tonight. >> all right. >> talk about the people on the roadways. are there onlookers? there's a lot of media, certainly of which you are one. is this the thing that's garnlerred inkrgarnler ed attention. or is it a safety area cordoned off? >> it's cordoned off. all of the roads to the hospital has been closed.

it's been cleared out to make way for the boys. so sh so, that's where things are at right now. they're not letting anybody close, not even supporters. they're having the boys be as safe as possible. and also don't want them to be inundated by supporters or media at this point. they've been quite the ordeal. a lot of mental health officials here, two even with the thai navy and the thai army. it's going to be weeks before they're able to process and deal with all of this. trying to keep them isolated for now. >> this is as shibani has captured the attention of the world. can you describe how much this has consumed people's conversations, the news media's coverage, the newspapers, the extent to which topic "a" across thailand. >> of course.

first, there were almost 2,000 people here from all over the world, which is staggering. that seexemplifies the scale of this. everyone here knew the boys. it's not like it was a big city. it was like a family feel here with the boys and the team. it has rippled through this community. with everywhere we've gone, every street, every cafe, every restaurant, you see people watching the tv and watching the news of the rescue. the media access is controlled here, this morning, the media is talking to those at the rescue site, to make way of the official divers and the rescuers. and so, there really hasn't been that much footage or that much

to broadcast. people are devouring everything they can get about the boys and the rescue. >> it is a predominantly buddhist country. we had a report from our responders and producers, who said there had been buddhist monks who had gone to the mouth of the cave to offer blessings. is this the kind of thing that you hear people talking about from a cultural perspective? they are sending up the prayers and the like for the safety of these kids. has this become engrained in the culture of thailand, the cave rescues? >> yes, of course. actually, i put together a profile on the coach, the only adult in there with the boys. it's really notable he would be -- there's been a lot of buddhist motifs around the rescue, with monks coming to bless them. a lot of people have made the coach being an ordained monk, in

his role, keeping the children safe through medication, through different breathing techniques and helping them conserve their energy. i believe that's been a huge theme here with the rescue. >> i can imagine. shibani mahtani, from "the washington post," right on site, near the chiang rai hospital. let's go to bill neely, who joins us from ground zero of this operation. bill, i will let you know that we did manage to turn around the tape of you speaking with chuck todd a short while ago. steven week has confirmed via the facebook page of the thai diving rescue team, that four kids are out. do you have further confirmation on additional numbers? >> no. and i wouldn't want to speculate.

what is clear, the children were coming out in groups of two. two-by-two. we think that -- well, we know that two have gone and are in the hospital. we think another four may be at least on dry ground. that means they could be inside the cave complex was chamber three, which is about a mile or so from where they originally were trapped, chamber three is dry. it's dry all the way from there to the cave exit and therefore would almost certainly be safe and without any danger because they certainly wouldn't need oxygen or masks or anything like that. and there are dozens of divers down there who will help them along the way and medics who will be at their side. again, an extraordinary operation. more than 150 divers involved here in all. and at the apex of this

operation, international divers and thai experts. we think that the british team that originally found these boys were involved right at the end. we don't know if one of the two guys that found the team were there in the early hours of this morning. the british people were at the think thick of it. and american divers are involved in this. an international effort, as the commander says nothing like this has been attempted before. >> we have talked several times over the past few days, bill, about the falling oxygen levels. that can't be fixed anytime soon, from the carbon dioxide. in addition, the rains. what is the forecast? if the rains come down in a moon soon-type fashion, that will complicate things. >> well, they already have.

we were drenched by a huge thunderstorm that was there last night, as well. there's a forecast for a deluge tomorrow, monday. as the commander said, this was the right time. in was the most opportune moment, the moment when the water levels inside the caves were at their lowest, when there was dry ground for the majority of the cave route. and there was just a red line. there comes a point when the monsoon rains are coming in at a greater capacity than the bumps are getting rid of the waters. once the rains start, that can be changed really quickly. falling water, falling oxygen levels, the time was right, said the commander. and he said this is d-day. it has to be now or never. >> bill neely, thank you so much for being right there at ground

zero and keeping a close eye on all of the details. bill, i know we're going to come back to you. for all of you, we're keeping a close eye on the hospital, where janis mackey frair is getting some reports. another set of ambulances to bring the next two base in the next five-plus minutes or so, making their way to the chiang rai hospital. we're going to take a short break and wait for the ambulances to come on scene. stay with us here. (vo) what if this didn't have to happen? i didn't see it. (vo) what if we could go back? what if our car... could stop itself? in iihs front-end crash prevention testing, nobody beats the subaru impreza. not toyota. not honda. not ford. the subaru impreza. more than a car, it's a subaru.

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welcome back, everyone. 16 past the hour. i'm alex witt here at msnbc headquarters. you will see what our eyes are trained on and cameras, of course. that's the chiang rai hospital where we know two of the dozen boys from the thai soccer team have made their way there. safely extricated, an hour and a half ago, we got the first reports that they made their way through the arduous passage 2 1/2 mile into the mouth of that cave. they were looked over by doctors on location, and then, taken to that hospital and driven via ambulance from that helipad locally. we're going to get to janis mackey frayer in a moment about all of those details because we believe there are two more on the way. i wanted to let you know that the president has been tweeting about this morning, as we read what the president has put out there moments ago. the u.s. is working closely with

the government of thailand to help get all of the children out of the cave and to safety. very brave and talented people. we can confirm this has been a multinational effort. and the u.s. has been a proud partner for all of the endeavors last week. janis, we know there were ambulances we believe carrying two more boys. what are you seeing there? >> about five minutes ago, two ambulances went from the hospital back down to the end of the street, which is the helicopter staging area. where the choppers are landing and the boys are transferred to the ambulances, which we're expecting to come back down the street within a couple of minutes. there were two, so it would bring to at least four, the total number of boys who have made it out. that's the confirmation from the royal thai navy, posting on its facebook page, as of 8:47, eastern time, four boys have

made it out. we're hearing reports from emergency officials that there are more boys on the way. this falls in line with what officials have told nbc news that the boys would be brought out two-by-two. they're employing the diving buddy system, where the boys are tethered to experience divers to get them through the tricky spots. there are sections of this nearly three-mile journey that the boys would be able to walk. it doesn't mean it's a walk in the park, though. these are treacherous conditions, slippery, dark, having to crawl over boulders. there's the expectation that, perhaps, the boys would need to be carried for part of that way. once they reach that cave entrance, there's full medical teams waiting. and of course, that is where they're being reunited with their families. now, we have the next ambulance coming, taking another one of the boys to the hospital.

and the expectation that this will continue through the night. the governor telling us earlier today that they will continue the rescue mission until every last child is brought out. alex? >> yeah. that was good to see you again. we believe that would be the third of those rescued kids, having passed right behind you there, janis mackey frayer, a fourth along the way momentarily. there were reports for all of you, we have yet to confirm via reuters that six kids have made it out of the cave. this is happening in a far more expeditious way than we anticipated, trying to get the kids out of there. six hours for the navy divers to be into the location where they had been stranded for 16 days. and another five hours to bring them out. by janis' description, and bill neely and steven weeks, the mouth of that cave an open area. they will be able to walk out on

their own accord or be carried or with janis, we're going to stay monitoring that. let us know if the plaambulance heads your way. the focus of the world is on these kids getting to safety. i'm joined on the phone. i believe that gary shindle is joining us, gary being a cave expert. can you explain the mouth of the cave? it's the kind of thing that was probably enticing 16 days ago when the kids and the coach decided they want to go exploring. that would be an open area that doesn't appear to have ominous signs to it. would they be easy for these kids to proverse, once they reach that mouth of the cave? >> that's a good question. >> i understand that this is a

commercial cave during the dry season. and there's some wild segments of the cave that people go into. you know, i think that the entrance to the cave, again, is very enticing. there's lots of caves in thailand, wonderful caves. i'm assuming that the kids have been in the caves multiple times. >> a commercial cave, that would denote why the kids decided to go exploring there in the first place. biggest challenge in your mind getting these kids out? is it just the part they have to maneuver with the navy s.e.a.l. divers alongside them? >> yes, exactly. the low areas we call sumps, that are full of water, are extremely difficult. you can assume there's no visibility, some of them are tight. my understanding there's one section that the divers had to remove their gear and push it through. that's an extreme technique when

you do that for cave diving. bringing kids through that, extremely dangerous. >> we have four boys successfully rescued. three of them by our count are in the chiang rai hospital that you see on your screen. gary, thank you for standing by with us. i'm sure we'll speak to you again. let's go to governor bill richardson, a former governor of new mexico, a frequent guest on our broadcast. i want you to join us with your hat of the former ambassador to the united nations. i want to talk about a mul multinational effort to put this together. it sounds great when you have all of the resources needed. but it's difficult to coordinate all of that. talk about all of the challenges with that, bill, won't you? >> well, there's a lot of challenges. the international community. i saw the president's tweet. the private sector, elon musk, everybody wants to help.

this is the expertise of the thai navy s.e.a.l.s. this is treacherous land. you want the experts to handle this. these kids, they're poor kids from humble families. some can't swim. it's a very difficult operation. but you have to be sensitized to the local expertise, the local needs. while the international community, this is a great news story and that we want to get these kids saved with all of the bad news in the world, everybody is rallying around getting these kids out. you want to be careful. and what you also want to do, alex, i've been in that country. i was there about four months ago, you want to get there before the monsoons. when the torrential rains come down, they come down very hard. it's not just like sprinkles. they come down hard. and they affect the land

enormously. they would probably fill up all of the water, all that cave. this is why i think this is moving efficiently, effectively, and as rapidly as possible. everybody is rooting for a great outcome. the international support is there. >> it is. and to your point, everyone is rooting for that. it is extraordinary, bill, when you look at the efforts of all of this multinational operation. and the success rate so far, having these four boys out, it was against all odds they would make it out. there were so many different ways they were considering what they were going to be able to do. and really, it was time was of the essence, that forced their hand, if you will, to make them go now. it was now or never because of the rains you described. with regard to the american operation, do you know the extent, bill, to which we've been involved? i know we've sent our s.e.a.l.

divers. but do you know if we sent others to join this operation in rescuing the kids and the coach? >> i'm not familiar with the exact details. but we have a lot of emergency workers that we can send technical expertise. probably the united states embassy and thailand is coordinating this, the agency for international development, that have all kinds of expertise. in the end, as i said, it's these navy s.e.a.l.s from thailand. we, in the past, work closely, the united states government, with the thai military. the thai military is very well-trained. enormously effective. i think the s.e.a.l. divers have shown them expertise. you have to let them take the lead and not interfere. all of the efforts to keep crowds and other entities away

from the kids, away from the hospital, is important. these kids are going to come out traumatized. hopefully they'll be fine and reunited with their families. this is a wonderful humanitarian effort by the international community. but mainly by the government of thailand and these navy s.e.a.l.s from thailand. >> it is extraordinary the success they've brought the four boys out so far. governor, ambassador bill richardson, thank you for joining us. i know you were going to talk about other global issues, notably north korea today. we'll have you back to speak about that. thank you. enjoy your sunday, sir. the president is keeping an eye on this, as well as the rest of the world. the u.s. is working closely with the government of thailand to get all of the children out of the cave and to safety, very brave and talented people. we could not agree more with that statement. we're going to take a short break.

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to keep our community safe. before you do any project big or small, pg&e will come out and mark your gas and electric lines so you don't hit them when you dig. call 811 before you dig, and make sure that you and your neighbors are safe. welcome back, everyone. i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters. all of the eyes of the world have been focused on for 90-plus

minutes, the extrication of 4 of the 12 boys of the thai soccer team. and the coach will be making it out of the cave. all of the action, relative to the four boys. this is the chiang rai hospital, where we're told an entire floor of that hospital has been devoted to the recovery of these boys. they are hoping to have all 13 room there's put aside for the reunification of families, the treatment of the boys and their coach. four of them, we know, are inside that hospital. it's been a remarkable rescue and recovery operation. something that nbc's bill neely can tell us about in great detail. bill, let's get to you for the latest. bill? >> reporter: okay, are they recording? >> yep. >> reporter: thank you for your patience. i will go on about 20 seconds

after this here. >> that is what is known as an as live. bill neely has had arduous conditions where he's been able to do some live reports. you're getting the clue in this is going to be a taped report. it happened a couple moments ago. it is the latest news. once we have that set up, we will get to that. we're showing you the video that's shown you the incredibly complicated and painstakingly slow operation, to get rescuers into those boys and coach. some 2 1/2-mile-plus journey from the mouth of that cave. what you're seeing is the amount of equipment they brought in, the man power, the tubes that ae pumping water out of the cave and oxygen in the cave. but the key thing is getting the water out. they've known that coupled with the falling oxygen levels, due to the rising carbon monoxide

levels. they have brought to a lower sustenance of washingtoxygen, w been weakening them. but you've seen the area these boys have to traverse to get out. look how close it is. there's moss covering the rocks, sharp edges, uncertainty, given the dark waters of where they place their footing. one point we've been concerned about, these boys, none of them knew how to swim. you can imagine what they had to do for themselves, learning how to put on dive masks. learning how to breathe with a regulator under water for extended periods of time. not being able to swim but hanging on to a rope and literally pulling themselves, often times, against currents, to get out of that cave. the reports are it will have a situation where you're trying to move out two boys at one time together. but they will be accompanied,

each, by two s.e.a.l.s. one in front and one in back, so that the one in front can lead that boy behind him and really, through a senls se of touch, ha on to the ropes and the feet of the diver ahead of them. and make sure the one behind is able to propel them forward. it is arduous, complicated, challenging and in truth, the odds have been against them getting everybody out safely. we're not out of the woods yet. not specifically out of the cave yet. four boys are out. that's very good news. we have another eight members of that team and that coach, to extricate from this cave. the falling oxygen levels have been of great concern. and the impending monsoon rains. it is the rainy season in that area. once the rains begin, that's where the problem began in the first place. those rains can quickly come and flood those caves. that's why the governor of thailand and the head of rescue

operations there said we have got to get into the caves right now, and get the boys out, despite the weakened state. it has been extraordinary, everybody. i want to go right now to ed sorens sorensen. he is a cave dive instructor. he teaches people how to dive in caves safely. ed, you are one of the perfect people to talk about the challenges here. i've tried to describe them, marrying with the pictures, put mig word putting my words to what these boys are facing. >> that's the thing. with every cave scenario, every cave is different. that's why it needs to be left to the on-scene personnel. they know what the conditions are, the most and not being an

armchair quarterback. in this particular instance, they have a lot of obstacles. usually, you have one, two or three. they have all of the worst of the worst. they have the tight restrictions, which are extremely stressful for an experienced cave diver, let alone, if they're not swimmers, they've spent little time submerged in the water. that's an extremely stressful situation. zero visibility, extremely stressful. so, they're not going to know what to do. they're having to use equipment they've never used. so, it's just fantastic. nothing short of a miracle that they were found by a great crew, from britain and that they're being brought out and they're actually making this happen. so, it's fantastic. >> it sure is. i have to tell you, edd, i'm a certified scuba diver. i've done so in very, luxurious, by comparison, situations.

when you go down certain depths or unable to see, you can get tangled up in things. they have a line that they must hold on to. i imagine given the very narrow nature of these pathways, it's got to just be a very narrow, fixed line. would it be a rope line they're hanging on to, given they can't even see where they are going. >> yeah. following the line, a lot of people who are experienced scuba divers, that's where they have problems in cave training classes. and they make mistakes. and you do it again the next day and you do it again the next day. these guys don't have that luxury. they have zero visibility. and the flow, as i understand it, is dropping from the lull in the rain. extreme high flow. they have all of the worst of the worst. it's real easy to get tangled up in that line. every time that cave changes direction, that line has to

attach to something so it can change direction without getting line trapped. >> absolutely. >> and the fact there is a current given the amount of waters there. it's my understanding that the boys are swimming upstream getting out of the cave. that's another exacter y efacto to deal with. i described the possibility of they assigned two navy s.e.a.l. divers, per child, as they were coming out. one in front, the child in the middle, and one in back. was that a fair subposition there? is that how it's being maneuv maneuvermaneuve maneuvered? >> i can't speculate. going through the same information you have. a loot of people would all do it differently. they are there. they know the situation.

they've been in and out the most. that's what they deem safest in this instance. >> i appreciate your insights and all of the expertise that we've been watching here. with my thanks to you, edd sorenson, we have four boys out of that cave, at the chiang rai hospital. we presume they've been reunited with their families. i'm sure the mothers want to be there the moment they exit the cave. we're going to take a short break and let you know we're keeping a close eye on a news conference that's been pushed back to 10:00 a.m. eastern time, this is from thai government officials giving us official word and updates. we'll go back to janis mackey frayer and bill neely, our eyes and ears on the ground. we have natalie azars in studio. we'll the right back. i did mom. wanna try it? yes. it intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you flake free. manolo? look at my soft hair. i should be in the shot now too. try head and shoulders two in one.

welcome back, everyone. approaching 45 past the hour and bringing you this update from right on the scene there. we're going to go to bill neely, who has an update on those four boys who have been extricated from that cave. bill neely, to you. >> this dramatic rescue is under way. and so far, it's going faster and, perhaps, better than expected. we know that about two hours ago, two boys were freed from the cave. they've been helicoptered to the nearest hospital and they're being treated by a separate medical team. and we now understand that two more boys are at the entrance to

the cave. one is weaker than the other and being treated by a medical team. 18 divers were involved at the apex of this operation. five crack thai navy s.e.a.l. divers and 13 international divers. ten of the divers went to the ledge where the boys have been for the last two weeks and one day. and they took them out two-by-two, walking, wading, sometimes diving through murky waters and narrow passage ways. it was a dangerous operation because a thai diver and experienced, highly-trained diver, collapsed and died down there. if he died, what about an 11-year-old boy. an extraordinary operation, launched by a commander who said, this is d-day, it's either now or never. the falling oxygen levels and falling rain meant that there was a red line.

and the commander had to green light this operation. it's been going for almost 12 hours. the boys are being taken out two-by-two. bill neely, nbc news, northern thailand. >> thanks for that report. let's go to janice muar janis m who is on the route going to the hospital by blanambulance. can you tell us how many you've seen going by. i think we were with you when the third went by. have you seen another one yet? >> we had the two ambulances go this way, presumably to go down to the landing area to pick up the two boys that were confirmed to be rescued. the royal thai navy confirming four but reuters confirming six boys have been rescued. we had another helicopter fly over to land at the park. we're expecting another ambulance to come by here.

this is moving along faster than the officials or the dive teams have expected. when the governor announced this morning that the rescue operation was under way, he figured it was going to take the better part of 11 hours in order to have some news, let alone news that the boys were starting to come out. there is the expectation that this is going a little faster. but the governor is adamant that they're going to keep going until the last boy is out. >> i'm sure given the hundreds, if not thousands of the people that are there on location to help these kids. janis, i know we're watching for a news conference that will be conducted by thai officials. there is an update right now, everyone. this is what we expected to happen at n about 15 minutes. it may have been upped a little earlier. we're monitoring this. it is being conducted in thai,

which is -- i don't know a word of that. we're going to try to find out the details and get translation of the facts that we can confirm from officials. the news has confirmed, our people on the ground, that we have four boys that have safely made it out of the cave. janis mackey frayer also referenced there may be two more. that's yet to be confirmed by nbc news. we know that we're able to get word of kids making it to that -- what's called the staging area three, cavern three. that's the large opening of that cave, which has been described by a commercial cave, in fact. that's why the kids and their coach, some 16 days ago, went into that cave to explore. it's a common tly done event the in thailand. once that reach that cavern three, they should be able to walk out on their own accord. it's about three-quarters of a mile, that would take some

estimations, as long as 45 minutes. that explains why we get some word, some inkling about increasing number of kids that have made it out to safety. until we can confirm and see them on location at the mouth of that cave and have medical and rescue officials, confirm that for us, we have yet to confirm those numbers independently here at nbc news. it is a huge operation. there's a lot to keep our eye on, as we give you three perspectives. we're going to take a break and be joined by natalie azores, in what lies ahead for these kids. who doesn't love a deal?

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saving in here. rewarded! learn more at theexplorercard.com welcome back, everyone. i want to give you what translators have gleaned from the thai official press conference that's under way right now in thai to the left of your screen. what we are getting is that rescue divers carried the boys out through the pass imagine the the cave complex. the first boy was out of the whole cave complex at 5:40 p.m. local time and the second one came out ten minutes later. third and fourth boys came out about 10:40 and 10:50 -- rather

7:40 and 7:50 local time. they have to now replenish the oxygen supplies because they have used them up for these first four operations. they have to be sure conditions remain stable and they will they will start again. again, the total number of people inside the cave 13. there are nine remaining right now but they are replenishing oxygen supplies before they can start bringing out the rest of them which contributes to this very long, arduous nature of what we are watching literally minute by minute unfold. right now dr. natalie azar joins me. dr. natalie, in the minute we have left, what concerns do these boys have to face when they come out of the cave? >> their status has to do with falling oxygen levels as we mentioned a couple times. they're exhaling co-2, they're not getting enough oxygen. short term that could be shortness of breath, heart and brain problems, longer term some other issues, of course, well hypothermia. if those two things can be

addressed and/or managed, monitored as they are coming out then the initial triage, of course, then goes to the rest of their vital signs and things like that. the bigger picture, infection and post traumatic stress. >> you mentioned infection. that is a concern. you were describing something -- what is it a cave fungus? >> it's called cave's disease. it likes to live in moist, dark environments. that's one of the biggest risks, that's a lung infection but they were drinking -- we heard they were licking water off the walls of the cave and they can develop infectious diarrhea from that. >> which will further weaken them. >> exactly. >> and before i get to another update, psychological effects, this can be long term but there is a resilient expectation with kids. >> the way i described it is this. for young children there's a physical as well as psychological resilience. that i don't have chronic underlying medical conditions so they hopefully can survive this insult better than an adult and psychologically, yes, as you

were eluding to earlier there is probably a little more likelihood they won't suffer long-term consequences such as depression and things like that from a natural disaster causing ptsd. >> they may be in the hospital for some time, would you suspect? can you give a guesstimation? >> they've been eating -- we know they've been getting some nourishment along the way but they haven't been eating solid foods. refeeding syndrome is a very serious thing. it can happen within their first four days after starting to be bed. it has to be managed carefully, they have to be monitoring their electrolytes, there's lots of shifts going in and out of cells so this is not something that will be a quick turnover at all. once they're able to top rate and take in normal food they can be discharged to have close psychological followup >> dr. natalie azar keeping a close eye on things and the state of these boys and the likelihood of what medical treatment they will have to receive. let's go to nbc's janice mackey fraire one more time outside of the chiang rai hospital.

crowds have gathered there. looks like there are a number of reporters, journalists of all types there. you believe the boys have made it to the chiang rai hospital? >> we believe four falling in line with what the royal thai navy was saying earlier and what the governor was confirming that four boys have been brought out. we had the ambulances go past a couple minutes ago taking the latest boys to the hospital. they have an entire wing dedicated to their care. they were checked for signs of breathing and hypothermia before they were put into ambulances and helicopters and brought here, this is, of course, what everybody wanted to see.

there are still several more boys that need to come out of the cave. officials have been trying to ca temper expectations that not all were going to come out at once. they acknowledged there were at least a few of the boys not in great shape, they were a little weak, including the coach who was extremely malnourish sod they're going to be taking their time. this was all part of the calculated decision on when they were going to launch this operation. they didn't know who they would bring out first, would it be the strongest, the weakest, the youngest and when they were adding in these other factors over which they had no control -- oxygen levels crashing, water levels and the threat of rain. we got spells of the rain earlier today and there is the expectation rain will get heavier by wednesday. the governor said earlier when he was launching this mission, what he called d-day, that it could take two to four days but it seems the timeline is moving

ahead faster than expected because he also said they didn't expect news let alone the first boy to come out before right now so they now have four boys confirmed, reports of another two so we could be almost halfway there. alex? >> that would be incredibly good news, janis mackey frayer, i want to thank you for staying on location outside of the chiang rai hospital in thailand. that is where the eyes of the world are focused. four boys confirmed. there are reports two more have made it close to the mouth of the cave. they are refuelling literally speaking, getting oxygen canisters s s s rs r s rs re -. it's been extraordinary covering this for you. i'm going hand off to my dear

colleague joy reid with yaa.m. y who will pick up the galle from here. >> thanks, alex, welcome to a.m. joy. we have a lot of political news to get to but first, the breaking news in thailand, several of the boys trapped in a cave for two weeks have been rescued. nbc is following the story closely. we will keep you updated on the ongoing rescue mission. meanwhile, donald trump is setting up for a new chapter in his show down with robert mueller. rudy giuliani is back doing the media circuit and he tells nbc news that trump's legal team will demand mueller come up with evidence linking trump to a crime before trump sits down for an interview. giuliani went further in an interview with the "new york times" asking mueller for evidence trump committed a crime while questioning mueller's authority to investigate possible obstruction of justice. i'm no lawyerut