'It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids' soccer team': Elon Musk shares footage of the 'mini-sub' he built to help save trapped Thai cave boys

• Musk tweets photograph of 'child-size submarine' he's leaving in Thailand
• SpaceX founder also posted social media pics of him inside a Thai cave
• No confirmation if it's the same cave where boys' soccer team is trapped 
• Billionaire tech mogul thought of ways to help extricate children stuck in cave 
• Eight out of 13 have been rescued after becoming trapped by monsoon floods 
• Ekaphol Chantawong could be left alone inside cave in Tham Luang in Thailand
• Comes as boys are not being allowed to hug family due to fears of infection

SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted photographs and video of his 'mini-sub' that he has left in Thailand in an effort to help authorities rescue members of a boys' soccer team trapped in a cave.

Musk is in Thailand to tout his 'child-size submarine' that he says he is willing to leave in Thailand to help the boys - although with two-thirds of them rescued he may be a bit late. 

On Twitter and Instagram, Musk posted images showing himself in 'Cave 3' - although there is no confirmation that that is where the trapped boys are located. 

The prototype revealed by the billionaire Musk on Monday shows a large metal tube with a nosecone that is meant to serve as the mini-submarine that would help the members of the youth soccer team to safety.

Officials from Musk's Boring Company and SpaceX traveled to Thailand to offer their assistance, but it appears that the Thai government has managed without them.

An unidentified person is seen in the 'child-size' submarine built by Elon Musk and left in Thailand to help with the cave rescue

Musk tweeted on Monday that he was in 'Cave 3' in Thailand and that his 'mini-sub is ready if needed'

The billionaire has been actively involved in trying to develop technological solutions that would extricate the young boys

Musk tweeted photographs of the 'child-size submarine' that he is leaving in Thailand to help the boys trapped in a cave - although with two-thirds of them rescued he may be a bit late

The prototype revealed by the billionaire Musk on Monday shows a large metal tube with a nosecone that is meant to serve as the mini-submarine that would help the members of the youth soccer team to safety

The submarine (pictured above being tested in the US) is unlikely to be delivered to the cave rescue in time but may be used in similar rescuers in the future

Officials from Musk's Boring Company and SpaceX traveled to Thailand to offer their assistance, but it appears that the Thai government has managed without them. Musk is seen above in this May 2018 file photo

Musk, who is in Thailand, tweeted on Monday: 'Just returned from Cave 3. 

'Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids’ soccer team. 

'Leaving here in case it may be useful in the future. Thailand is so beautiful.' 

As of Monday evening, eight boys have been rescued from the flooded Thai cave.

As the second group of four finally breathed fresh air yesterday, officials admitted the youths’ football coach faced spending a night alone in the dank, dungeon-like tunnels.

Rescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn refused to rule out 25-year-old Ekaphol Chantawong being left inside the cave if the four remaining pupils are rescued today, because the divers’ system of taking that many at a time was working well. ‘For safety, the best number is four,’ he said.

Meanwhile, adding to their parents’ torment, the boys are not being allowed to hug them due to infection fears. They are being quarantined in hospital but are said to be in ‘good health’.

Yesterday the British-led rescue mission resumed with four more boys from the Wild Boars football team extracted to safety through miles of claustrophobic underground tunnels. Incredibly, they could not even swim before their ordeal.

Yesterday the British-led rescue mission resumed with four more boys from the Wild Boars football team extracted to safety through miles of claustrophobic underground tunnels (pictured: one of the boys is taken away on a stretcher)

Now just four of the youngsters and their coach remain in the hellish Tham Luang cave, in northern Thailand. The 13 were trapped during a visit on June 23 when monsoon floods blocked the cave exit and forced them back three miles into the mountain – where they have stayed on a ledge starving in the darkness.

Last night, emerging from the cave complex, some of the boys were carried to a fleet of helicopters amid frenzied cheering from onlookers.

In one dramatic scene at 6.30pm, an army medic hoisted a drip while another held a monitor as a team of soldiers carried a boy on a stretcher. The youngster was wrapped in a silver space blanket to preserve what little body heat he had left. The medical team were all wearing masks to protect against infection.

That boy and at least one other had to be airlifted to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, where the first four children from Sunday’s rescue mission are recovering.

From their dedicated ward, the boys have demanded meals of pad krapow – a Thai comfort dish made from spicy pork, basil leaves and rice. On doctor’s orders they are getting no more than baby food, Mr Osottanakorn revealed.

‘The four children from today are in good health,’ he said. ‘Doctors have told us we must be careful about the food that is given to them because they are fragile after starving for many days. They can take normal food like diluted porridge.’

Anxious parents of the first four had to wait 24 hours before being allowed to see their sons – and even then with no physical contact allowed.

Yesterday afternoon public health inspector Dr Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong said the parents of the latest foursome would be allowed to see their children in the evening but added: ‘Visitors will only be allowed to meet and talk to the patients but no hugging or touching – and they need to leave a one to two-metre distance.’

The boys are being monitored for breathing difficulties, hypothermia and an airborne lung infection known as ‘cave disease’ caused by bat and bird droppings which can be fatal if untreated.

The Thai authorities have refused to name any of the rescued boys until all of them are out (pictured: umbrellas are used to shield the identities of boys airlifted to hospital)

The Thai authorities have refused to name any of the rescued boys until all of them are out.

Once again, British cave experts spearheaded yesterday’s operation which involved more than 100 divers. Seven Britons chaperoned the boys through the treacherous tunnels as part of a team that included 18 international cave divers and five elite Thai navy SEALS. Scores of other volunteer cave divers from around the world helped by delivering air refill tanks and tightening the guide rope along the route, which includes ten ‘choke points’ where the mud-clogged tunnel is terrifyingly narrow.

Friends of the British experts claimed they ‘never panic’ under water and would be keeping reassuring eye contact with the children. Wearing full-face masks, the boys either swam or were pulled along. Yesterday’s nine-hour mission – starting at 11am – was two hours shorter than Sunday’s.

A source who saw two of the four boys walk out of the cave yesterday said they looked ‘tired but healthy’, adding: ‘Imagine marathon runners. It’s like when they reach the finish line exhausted.’

Last night the Thai prime minister flew to the cave to thank the rescue squad, and said the ordeal should serve as a wake-up call to all children to avoid it happening again.