The rescue of the “Wild Boars” team was still being celebrated in Thailand as the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach recovered in a local hospital.
The Nation newspaper called the operation a “Triumph of global cooperation” on its front page Thursday while the Bangkok Post published a collage of images of those involved under the heading “You Are Heroes.”
The saga started on June 23 when the players walked into the Tham Luang cave complex after football practice and were trapped when monsoon flooding blocked their exit.
Nine days later British divers found the dishevelled and hungry group perched on a ledge four kilometres (2.5 miles) inside the cave.
Over the following week, experts from around the world descended on northern Thailand and rescuers pumped out more than 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools-worth of water.
A huge media pack of more than 1,000 journalists gathered at the mouth of the cave feeding audiences all over the globe with every twist and turn of the dramatic rescue until its joyful conclusion on Tuesday.
The huge international interest in the story sparked immediate talk of books and films.
Michael Scott, the managing partner of faith-based production house Pure Flix, said the company intends to pursue a film about the against-the-odds mission.
Scott, who lives in Thailand and went to the site in Chiang Rai as the boys were being pulled to safety, made the announcement late Tuesday on Twitter in a video.
“We’re here really looking at this as a movie that could inspire millions of people across the globe,” Scott said.
