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MAE SAI, Thailand – 12 boys and their football coach began a mishap in a cave in northern Thailand, flooded by floods, which soon seemed to end in tragedy.
A long history of survival, international collaboration and the triumph of the impossible – a race that was eagerly embraced and followed live around the world.
A team of divers rescued the boys' last Tuesday and coached them underpbad pbadages near the Thai border with Myanmar, one of the most remote areas of Southeast Asia.
The divers brought the last four members of the Wild Boars team and their coach out of the flooded cave of Tham Luang. they did it was a mix of tests and mistakes, improvisations, skills, mbadive water pumps, miles of guide ropes and tanks of air strategically placed along the two mile evacuation route.
For rescuers to locate even the boys, then almost a week before the rescue could even begin.
A diver died while preparing for the evacuation. The other rescuers, loaded with diving gear, wore the boys – who could not swim and wore full masks – as they snuck into flooded crevbades that would challenge the most seasoned divers. The last walk to freedom took four hours or more per child.
"We are not sure if it's a miracle, or a science, or what," the Navy SEALs from Thailand posted on their Facebook page. "The 13 boars are now out of the cave."
The rescue of wild boars has touched a global nerve, an edifying counterpoint to the wars, atrocities, ethnic conflicts and crises afflicting countries like Syria, South Sudan and Yemen Not to mention home in Myanmar and in Thailand itself, where there is a long war near the southern border.
For many people around the world, the extraordinary operation of saving 12 boys and their coach was welcome contrast with the images of the United States separating immigrant children from their parents and confining them.
The five wild boars that emerged on Tuesday were immediately transported by ambulance and helicopter to Chiang Rai Hospital, the nearest major city. to be quarantined with the eight boys rescued Sunday and Monday
They were to stay about a week in quarantine, where family members who feared to be dead can see them through a victory
Among the the last to come out of the cave, there was Ekkapol Chantawong, the 25-year-old Boars football coach, who helped the boys stay alive by keeping their energy for the 10 days leading up to the 39, arrival of help. members and friends were predictably enthusiastic at the announcement that everyone was finally safe. Hundreds of millions of others around the world have applauded with them.
"It was 18 days old but it was like years," says Prayuth Jetiyanukarn, the abbot of a temple in Mae Sai town where Mr. Ekkapol works. The eyes of the abbot shone.
"I'm so happy, but it's not just for Ek and the team," he said. "The whole world has been watching during these 18 days and they are celebrating with us."
At a press conference after the rescue, the chief of the operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, was visibly pleased.
is doing something that no one expected us to do, "he said. "It was an impossible mission."
Four Thai hunters, an army doctor, and three SEAL members of the Thai Navy, who had remained in the cave with wild boars for over 30 years. a week, they also made their way out of the cave. after they were found and helped them prepare for their underwater escape
. Narongsak said the four divers were healthy after eight days underground. However, they are expected to join the Wild Boars and Mr. Ekkapol in quarantine, due to fear of infection.
"This morning, I promised to take out nine people," Narongsak said. "We are a success now."
Tham Luang Cave, about two miles from the border with Myanmar, is the bed of an underground river that flows during the monsoon season.
The cave is also a labyrinth of pbadages and rooms, with side roads and dead ends that make navigation difficult, especially when they are filled with water.
Just reaching the cave where the group finally came was a feat, even for the most skilled researchers. The Boars and their trainer entered the cave after their football training on June 23, one week before the start of the rainy season
but heavy rain began to fall and the complex began to fill with water. 39; water. avoid drowning.
Narongsak, then governor of Chiang Rai Province, began organizing a search, a task he later found desperate
. Nevertheless, Mr. Narongsak and other officials have embarked on this case. They mobilized dozens of Thai Navy personnel, hundreds of soldiers, volunteers and workers from 20 government agencies.
The leaders of the operation tried all the approaches that they could imagine
. But two made a big difference: the installation of mbadive pumps to drain the water from the cave and the construction of an improvised dam to prevent floods from spilling into the cave.
To badist Navy SEAL members, who had little experience in cave diving, the research leaders turned to a group of highly skilled foreign troglodyte divers, a rare species of explorer.
July 2, two British divers who extended the guide lines into the cave.
A diver, John Volanthen, reached the end of his line, tied it in the mud and went out of the water to find 13 pairs of fixed eyes. to him.
T The boys, having no idea of the international fixation on their situation, were surprised to learn that the diver was from Britain.
If Mr. Volanthen's line had been shortened by 15 feet, he would probably have missed them
. the boys asked for food and asked if they could leave right away. But this operation would take another six days to begin, and two more before all were evacuated.
The four Thai divers stayed with them, nursing them back to health and giving them a high protein diet
. extracting boys through treacherous underpbades would be more difficult than finding them. Few or no boys could swim, let alone use diving equipment.
In the end, rescuers concocted a plan for small teams of divers to pull out the boys by holding them under their bodies while they were swimming. The boys wore full face masks, rather than diving equipment, to allow them to breathe more easily under the water.
A successful rescue depended on the establishment of a tank of air tanks along the route that they would take
when a volunteer diver, Saman Gunan, 38 years old, a former member of the Navy SEALs of the Thai Navy, lost consciousness and died while returning from the establishment of air tanks
"I call him the hero of Tham Luang Cave ". Narongsak says:
The first two days of the rescue, 18 divers – 13 foreigners and 5 Thai – participated, bringing out four boys each time. On the last day, at least 12 divers took part
Jintrakarn Sriwanithkul, 18, a student at the Mae Sai Prasitsart school, which was attended by six wild boars, was thrilled to be there. announcement of the successful rescue. incredible news, "he said." When I heard that they were missing, I thought they'd be out in two or three days because they knew the cave well. "
Foreign journalists converged hundreds to the cave in the kind of mbad blanket usually reserved for major events, such as the disappearance of Flight 370 from Malaysia Airlines four years ago. [19659009] For Thai military leaders, who took power during a coup in the same year and who have not yet held the promised elections, the bailout was an opportunity. [19659002] King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who reported early that he was closely following the research effort, gave food and supplies.
The unusual personal interest of the King did he give extra impetus to the effort n & # 3 It is unclear, but a senior police official who visited the cave told the researchers not to spend anything.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former general, visited the cave twice to meet officials, rescuers and families of the missing. . In the end, the final part of the mission took a little less than nine hours, from the moment the divers entered the cave until they emerged with the four boys. and Mr. Ekkapol.
"I would like to say thank you to His Majesty and the Royal Family for supporting us," Narongsak said. "I am grateful for all the support of the Thai people and the world."
Some SEAL members of the Thai Navy stayed near the cave in the Mae Sai neighborhoods. In the end, dive clothes, boxes of instant noodles and wet towels were strewn all over the place.
A SEAL member said that the operation could seem easy from the graphs in the newspapers, but that it was hard. They worked at least 12 hours a day and returned to their exhausted quarters.
Nangnoung Namun, a craft weaver who cooked hundreds of meals a day for the SEAL team as a volunteer, was delighted with the successful rescue. 19659002] "Now I can sleep peacefully," she says. "I'm so relieved."
The first confirmation that all 13 were finally safe comes from the SEAL team with a post on their Facebook page shortly before 7 pm
"12 boars and coach came out of the cave," They have ad. "Everyone is safe."
"Hooyah", Facebook post concluded.
Hannah Beech, Navaon Siradapuvadol and Muktita Suhartono contributed to the report.
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