Today, teams of navy SEALs are performing a daring rescue mission in northern Thailand.

As of this writing, four members of a boys soccer team have been helped out of the Tham Luang cave system, each accompanied by two navy SEALs.

Their coach and eight other members are still on a ledge four kilometres from the cave's entrance.

It's expected to become more filled with water as the rainy season progresses, making this rescue more urgent.

They've been there for 15 days and there are concerns that the oxygen supply may diminish as water levels rise.

Those who were rescued had full face-masks and were tethered to divers with oxygen tanks.

The divers spent 11 hours reaching the boys and then bringing them out.

"This is D-Day," Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn told the media. "The boys are ready to face any challenge."

Ropes were installed to help with the rescue, and the strongest boys were the first to be taken out.

There are 18 members of the international dive team doing the rescue, as well as dozens of other divers assisting in other ways.

Families of the boys have reportedly given their consent for the rescue operation to take place.

Those who've been removed from the cave were taken to a nearby hospital for obserrvation.