Sudarshan Pattnaik prays for stranded Thai team through sand art - In pics

PURI: Known for his immaculate sand sculptures, International artist Sudarshan Pattnaik has prayed for the safety of the young Thai soccer team and the coach who are stranded in a cave there. Through his sculptures, Pattnaik wrote, "We pray for the safe rescue of the Thai boys." The art depicts the boys who are stuck inside the cave.

Pattnaik used five tons of sand for his 'Thai Cave Rescue' creation and it took him three hours to complete the 4 ft high piece of art. "I created this sand sculpture with my prayers for the rescue of the boys stuck inside the cave. I pray to God that the boys return home safely," said Pattnaik.

#ThaiCaveRescue: We pray for the successful rescue of the Thai boys. My sand art at #Puri beach in india pic.twitter.com/Di3OolcG73 — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 9, 2018

Pattnaik through his art also paid tribute to the former Thai Navy SEAL diver who died during the rescue mission. The diver ran out of oxygen in a flooded area of the cave on Friday while trying to rescue the stranded boys.

#ThaiCaveRescue: I pay tribute to diver Saman Kunan who died during the difficult cave rescue operations. My SandArt at #Puri beach in India with message RIP...True Hero pic.twitter.com/SeBNadM8s6

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 9, 2018

Nine boys have so far been rescued from the Thai cave and the remaining four are likely to be pulled out on Tuesday from the flooded Thai cave. The 12 young soccer players along with their 25-year-old coach have been stranded for the last 18 days after they got stuck there on June 23. The boys, aged from 11 to 16 along with their coach, ventured into the Tham Luang cave after football practice and got caught deep inside when heavy rains caused flooding that trapped them on a muddy ledge.

With rain again pounding the cave site in a mountainous region in northern Thailand on Tuesday morning, authorities have struggled to devise a safe plan to get them out. They even mulled ideas such as drilling holes into the mountain or waiting months until monsoon rains ended and they could walk out.

Those who have been rescued would remain in quarantine until doctors were sure they had not contracted any infections from inside the cave. Experts warned that drinking contaminated water or otherwise being exposed to bird or bat droppings in the cave could lead to dangerous infections.

But the early signs were promising, with X-rays and blood tests showing just two had signs of pneumonia and that they were in a "normal state" after taking antibiotics, Jedsada said.

The ups and downs of the rescue bid have entranced Thailand and also fixated a global audience, drawing support from celebrities as varied as US President Donald Trump, football star Lionel Messi and tech guru Elon Musk.