CHIANG RAI, Thailand, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Four boys out of a total of 12 young soccer team members and their coach have been rescued after being trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, a Thai official in charge of the rescue operation told reporters Sunday.

The boys were rescued using full face masks, with the first one emerging out of the cave at about 17:40 local time Sunday, followed by the second one 10 minutes later, Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told a press briefing at the site after the first successful operation.

The third boy emerged from the cave at about 19:40 local time, tightly followed by the fourth one. They have all been hospitalized, according to the governor.

The next operation for the rest is set to resume in 10-20 hours, with officials and volunteers buoyed by the fact that their method of rescuing the boys by diving has been successful so far, he said.