Coalition of heroes
IT TOOK a community of nations to pull the 13 Wild Boars out of the flooded cave – along with some 2000 people and a whole lot of planning, good fortune and goodwill.
The images of the boys, found alive and well, perched on a muddy shelf amid rising waters nine days after they were lost on June 23, were initial cause for celebration. But those familiar with the treachery of caves knew a huge challenge lay ahead.
Heavy rains were coming; there was a good chance the boys were already suffering from pneumonia or waterborne disease, and the Tham Luang’s 10km cave system was not even properly mapped.
Thailand’s friends reacted immediately and the Chiang Rai region’s governor, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, made sure they were welcome – so long as they were true professionals, not attention seekers.
Divers and disaster experts were quickly identified from Australia, Britain, China, the US, Canada, Laos, Myanmar, Belgium, Finland, Denmark and Japan and converged on the Chiang Rai region of northern Thailand to give the help that was urgently needed.
More than 100 Royal Thai Navy SEALs were already making expeditions into the cave, backed by 1000 Thai military and hundreds of volunteers.
The dangers of the rescue were brought into sharp relief last Friday by the death of a re- tired Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan as he ran out of air in the flooded cave complex as the extraction plans were being laid.
All options were on the table but diving them out was the fastest, and riskiest, method. As university types cautioned against the water extraction, Narongsak knew it was the best hope.
A strategy was quickly agreed on. Air tanks would be positioned along the route. A safety guide line would run through the tunnels. A core group of 19 divers to rescue the boys was identified. And for each plan, a second and third contingency put in place.
South Australian anaesthetist and cave- diving expert, Richard Harris, would go to the frontline. His task: to check the boys and administer a mild sedative prior to departure – enough so they wouldn’t panic.
With the world watching, Dr Harris needed to keep his head. “The amount of pressure that was pushed on him, and the role he played, I have the utmost respect for everything that he’s done,” said the ADF’s Major Alex Rubin.
Yet, as he brought the final group of boys and their soccer coach out of the Thai caves, Dr Harris learnt he had lost his “best mate” … his father.
Harris’s father, 80- year- old James, died in Adelaide a short time after the successful mission – but not without knowing his son was playing the most critical role.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged Dr Harris – and everything that was achieved by the entire team. “It’s one of the most heroic and inspiring episodes of our time,” he said.
Reflecting in the aftermath of the extraordinary rescue, Australian Federal Police commander Glen McEwen said the event was a once- in- a- lifetime testament to people working together without ego or pride.
“It’s amazing what the human being can do,” he said.
IT’S ONE OF THE MOST HEROIC AND INSPIRING EPISODES OF OUR TIME MALCOLM TURNBULL