Thai Boys Soccer Team Freed From Cave Back In The Spotlight

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

BANGKOK (CBSMiami) - The 12 boys and their soccer coached trapped for nearly three weeks in a flooded cave in Thailand are back in the spotlight.

The team spoke to crowds about their ordeal at an exhibition in the country's capital of Bangkok.

The young soccer players turned celebrities, climbed out of a mock exhibit of a narrow cave with smiles on their faces as they recalled their real escape in northern Thailand nearly two months ago.

"I'd like to thank everybody all over the world, my friends and the Navy seals who helped us," said 15-year-old Ekarat.

The interactive showcase inside a popular mall in Bangkok, details efforts international divers made to save the boys. Visitors can see dive suits search teams wore and wrap themselves in thermal blankets like the boys used to stay warm.

The team was trapped in the flooded cave for nearly two weeks before search crews found them and launched an elaborate rescue plan.

The exhibit also features a statue remembering the former Navy seal diver who died installing oxygen tanks along the treacherous escape route.

The team's coach, who took them into the complex before floodwaters hit, has since become a monk. He said, "the lesson for everyone is to be mindful of what you're doing because anything can happen in life."

Thailand's government organized the exhibition which will tour the country after it closes in Bangkok. At least six films and several books about the dramatic rescue are also in the works.