Heroic rescue divers save football team trapped in cave

The dramatic operation to free the Wild Boars defied the odds and captured the world’s attention

On 23 June, a young Thai football team and their coach went to explore the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand, but a sudden downpour of heavy rain caused flooding and blocked their way back out. They survived there for nine days with barely any food or light before being found by divers from a search team. With the threat of more monsoon rains to come, the military and civilian rescue team faced a race against time to find a way to bring the boys and their coach to safety. The ledge where the boys and their coach were found was around 2,950 metres from the cave entrance and was only accessible by diving due to the flooding. A return journey could take up to 11 hours to complete and every trip was dangerous, even for the most experienced divers. Former Thai Navy Seal diver Saman Gunan sadly died on his way out of the cave after taking in air tanks for the trapped group. The rescue mission was treacherous. To prepare for the journey out of the cave the boys were sedated so that they wouldn’t panic in the dark and narrow underwater passages. They were fitted with full-face diving masks before being carefully guided through the flooded sections by two rescue divers. Each boy was strapped to one of the divers, with the second diver following to help shepherd them through safely. For the narrowest sections – just 40 centimetres wide – the boys had to be unstrapped from the lead diver and travel through with their air tanks in front. In the drained or unflooded sections of the caves a system of stretchers and ropes with pulleys were used to carry the boys along to safety. The extraordinary efforts took several days, with the boys being brought out in small groups. On 10 July, the last remaining boys and their coach were rescued and taken to hospital to recover from their terrifying ordeal. At the time of writing, all of the boys and their coach are in good health and have been discharged from hospital to return home to their families. The unforgettable bravery of the rescue teams and the Wild Boars themselves has been an inspiration to people all over the world.