Thai cave rescue underway

4 things we learned from the Thai governor's press conference
From the transcript of Chiang Rai Gov. Narongsak Osotthanakorn's press conference moments ago, we learned:

The operation went quickly: "The operation today went quicker than when we rehearsed, 10 minutes quicker."
We don't know the rescued boys' names, but they're safe: "We haven't confirmed the identity of the four boys and the rest, where they are now ... Four of them have been safely in doctor's hands at Prachanukroh Hospital."
The rescue teams: "We have 13 divers in the rescue team with an extra five Navy SEALs. There are 90 staff for the whole operation. Fifty are foreign staff divers, 40 Thai."
The kids wore face masks: The "method to get them out, all the boys are wearing full face mask and the rescue divers carried them out through the passage in the cave complex."

Thai governor says evacuations took less time than it did in drills

Evacuations of four boys from a cave in northern Thailand took 10 minutes less than they did during practice, Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said in a press conference Sunday.

The governor said Sunday’s operation went smoothly but they would need to make sure all conditions were stable for the next phase of evacuations.

Rescue workers are scheduled to hold a strategy meeting late Sunday about remaining operations.

The governor said all boys were wearing full face masks for diving and were then carried out through the rest of the cave.

Ambulances carrying rescued boys just arrived at Chiang Rai hospital
A member of the Thai police stationed outside Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital just told CNN that three ambulances carrying the rescued boys had safely arrived.

There was one boy in each ambulance.

Eve Tapanya from the Tourist Police said their condition was “not that bad," and, "They’re OK."

The hospital is about an hours drive from the cave. Doctors and nurses there have been preparing for days in anticipation of the rescue.

Thai official says four boys were rescued wearing "full face masks"

A Thai official just held a press conference near the site of the cave, where he confirmed that four boys have been rescued by the team of divers and Thai Navy SEALs.

Describing the "very smooth operation," Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said the boys were rescued using full face masks. The first one was rescued about three hours ago.

He said the clock is continuing to tick for the remaining boys, and rescuers are going to focus on replacing the oxygen tanks so they can continue the operation.

He said he didn't know when they would be able resume getting out the boys, but he estimated in approximately 10 hours, but no more than 20.

Thai Navy SEAL says 4 members of soccer team are out of the cave

The Thai Navy SEAL official Facebook page reports that four members of the Wild Boar soccer team are out of the cave.

A U.S. official briefed on the operation also confirmed to CNN that four boys were safely out of the cave.

Earlier a rescuer told CNN he had seen at least three.

This comes several hours after a team of 13 international cave diving experts and five Thai Navy SEALs entered the cave to begin the treacherous attempt to accompany the boys one by one through the flooded, narrow tunnels.