Update: Twelve Thai boys and their football coach who became trapped deep in a flooded cave complex tried to dig their way out and survived on rainwater for nine days before being found and later rescued. 

"We tried to dig out as we thought we cannot only wait for authorities to get us," coach Ekkapol Chantawong told a press conference Wednesday as the Wild Boars team made their first public appearance since being saved.

One of the team members said they "drank water that fell from the rocks" before being found by two British divers nine days after going inside the cave on June 23.

The 12 boys and their football coach rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand made their first public appearance here at a press conference on Wednesday.

They are in good mental and physical conditions after more than a week of recovery.

Public health department said the boys' health has improved, with each gaining two to three kg.

Psychologists vetted the questions submitted by reporters from all over the world in advance, saying the boys' mental health is the priority.

One of the 12 boys dramatically rescued from deep inside a Thai cave said Wednesday the moment they were found by British divers was a “miracle”.

“It is a miracle,” Adul Sam-on, 14, told a press conference as the 12 members of the football team and their coach appeared in public for the first time since the rescue.

The boys in cave had no food, survived on rainwater for nine days.

Thai team trapped in cave tried to dig their way out.

The “Wild Boars” team entered the cave on June 23 after practice. They  were found nine days later by two British cave divers, but spent a total of 18 days inside before being extracted.