Canadians played part in rescue MAPS, DIVE TEAM

A company founded in Canada played a vital role in this week’s successful rescue of 12 soccer players and their coach from a cave in northern Thailand.

Patrick Blott, CEO of 3D and geospatial mapping company Intermap, said they were able to give the first 3D maps of the cave area within three hours of getting called by Thai agencies seeking help.

“When we got the initial call, which was on the 27 th — four days after the boys went missing — at that time, the rain was building and the water levels were rising by a foot every hour,” says Blott, who was born in Ottawa and grew up in Toronto.

“The authorities had no idea where the kids were, all they had were soccer cleats and bicycles left at the entrance to the cave. It was very, very grim and it was hard to have any hope, but we threw everything that we had at it,” Blott said from the company’s corporate headquarters in Denver, Colo.

Using sensors — such as microwave, radar wave, infrared and gravitational field technology — that collect information the human eye can’t see, Intermap was able to provide rescue teams with precise information of an area that had never been properly mapped before, including how deep and wide the cave was, where the water entry and exit points were, and what happens if there is a storm surge.

The company was even able to predict where the boys might have been sheltering themselves — a muddy slope rising many metres above the water, where they were able to stay dry.

Meanwhile, the family of a British Columbia-raised diver who braved perilous conditions to help in the rescue say he is safe, happy and very tired.

Erik Brown grew up in Langley and owns a diving company in Thailand. His family said that when the 35-year-old saw that the boys were trapped he didn’t hesitate to join the rescue team.

Brown posted a photo of himself with other divers on Facebook with the caption, “9 days. 7 missions and 63 hours inside Tham Laung Cave. Success.”

His brother Kirk Brown said his family was nervous throughout the rescue operation but very happy and proud that he was able to help.

Kirk Brown added that when news broke that an experienced diver had died during the rescue, that made it even more difficult not to worry.

“The Thai cave rescue was a team effort, and I’d like to congratulate and thank Langley’s Erik Brown for stepping up to help get the job done — you’ve made Canadians proud,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter.