Rescue mission used hundreds of oxygen cylinders
RESCUE leaders have revealed just how touch and go the mission was as the boys sitting on a tiny ledge started becoming drowsy as oxygen levels fell, with fears they would slip into comas.
As Hollywood circles offering “serious money” for insider accounts of the cave rescue, with a heavy focus on Australian doctor Richard Harris, the Australian Federal Police in Thailand said they have been fielding steady offers from producers but pointed out that they are not a film agency.
No matter how Hollywood portrays the rescue, they will have trouble matching the drama and emotion of what has played out in Chiang Rai.
Rear Admiral Apakorn Youkongkaew, head of Naval Special Warfare Command, said that when they realised time was running out for the Wild Boars, who had already been found but were becoming weak and distressed, they turned to their international partners.
“Oxygen was decreasing and the kids were becoming drowsy,” Rear Admiral Apakorn said. “What will we do? We had such time constraints. Finally, we got a plan from the international divers. I’m so glad. We approved it.”
The final plan involved placing hundreds of oxygen cylinders and a guide rope along the route — and just going for it.
But first Dr Harris was tasked with giving the boys a mild sedative — the Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chano-cha said the drug was an anti-anxiety medication — so they could relax on the journey out. All they had to do was trust in the divers and let it happen.
Deputy SEALs commander, Captain Anan Sudawan, revealed how after the first pair of British divers reached the boys on a five-and-a-half hour journey, they had to make the agonising decision to leave the boys on the 5m x 2m ledge, promising to return.
When they arrived back at the base camp, Capt Anan sent four Thai Navy SEALs to the ledge, with food, water and foil blankets.
This caused new anxiety because the SEALs took 23 hours to return after reaching the boys. And only three returned. Lt-Col Park Lohachoon, a diving medic, chose to stay with them.
Lt-Col Park, who would be the last man out of the cave when the rescue was completed, is now a Thai national hero.