Tragedy in Thailand: Former navy SEAL dies during rescue effort
BANGKOK (AP) — A former member of the Thai navy’s elite SEAL unit who volunteered to help his old comrades in their risky mission to evacuate a dozen boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave has become the first casualty of the massive rescue effort.
The death of former Petty Officer 1st Class Saman Gunan early Friday during an underwater swim in the partly flooded cave struck a particularly deep chord with Thais, because he was a volunteer on a humanitarian mission that has riveted the nation’s attention for two weeks.
And as is the case with elite military units all over the world, Thailand’s SEALs were quick to pay their own heartfelt tribute to their fallen friend.
“See you in Chiang Rai,” was the can-do salutation in a memorial message from other retired SEALs that was forwarded to their buddies in active service at the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand.
“The determination and dedication of Saman will always be in all of our frogmen hearts. Today Saman rests. We will complete this mission, just as Saman intended,” they vowed, signing off with a battle cheer adopted from the U.S. Navy: “Hooyah Hooyah Hooyah.”
The statement said that Saman was a member of their 30th class who resigned to work as a security officer at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport since 2006.
“He is a SEAL member who had knowledge, skill, was an athletic triathlete, and enjoyed adventure sports,” it said. “Even when he left the department, he still loved and bonded with his SEAL team brothers, no matter what activity the SEAL team held, Saman would always participate in activities, right until his last minute.
“Saman left us while working with his SEAL team brothers at a time where all frogmen put their arms around each other and move forward to complete the mission that is set.”
Navy SEAL commander Rear Adm. Arpakorn Yookongkaew separately explained the ethic driving the SEALs’ mission and why Saman’s death would not deter them from their course.
“We have been trained to always be dealing with risks,” he said. “Therefore, whether it’s sickness or death, they are things that we are always facing because that’s how we’re trained. I want to confirm that we have never lost morale, and are still in high spirits. We will not let our fallen brother die in vain.”
Arpakorn told reporters Saman’s role was to place oxygen canisters on the route within the cave the active SEALs are using to reach the trapped boys.
“When Saman placed the canisters, he was on his way back and while he was returning he had lost consciousness. His buddy partner tried to give him first aid but when those efforts did not succeed, he was brought back to chamber three,” referring to part of the cave that has become a staging area for the operation.
“And when he reached chamber three, we tried to care for him some more, but he lost consciousness and never regained it, so we sent him to the hospital,” said Arpakorn.
Saman was 38 and is survived by his wife, his colleagues said.
He also left behind a selfie video taken on June 30, just before boarding the navy plane that took him north for his final mission.
“Loaded all my stuff on to the plane. I’m ready to fly to Chiang Rai,” he says, while also noting who else was on the flight.
“See you at Tham Luang in Chiang Rai,” says Saman. “May good luck be on our side to bring the boys back home.”
On Friday, authorities raced against worsening weather and lessening oxygen where the 12 boys and their coach have been trapped.
“We can no longer wait for all conditions (to be ready) because circumstances are pressuring us,” SEAL commander Rear Adm. Arpakorn Yookongkaew told a news conference. “We originally thought the boys can stay safe inside the cave for quite some time, but circumstances have changed. We have a limited amount of time.”
Oxygen levels are decreasing because of the amount of workers inside the cave and workers were trying to run an oxygen line into the chambers in addition to the oxygen canisters used by divers, Chiang Rai province Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said.
A senior army commander, Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam, said the most pressing mission is the oxygen line. It is tied to a telephone line to provide a channel of communication for the kids, who are stuck deep in the complex but are being looked after by four SEALs, including a medic.
The boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-yearold coach went exploring in the cave after a soccer game June 23.
Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days as the only way to reach them was by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents.