Thai boys recount cave rescue: Voices in the dark, then ‘Hello’
CHIANG RAI, Thailand — Trapped in the recesses of a flooded cave, the 12 boys and their soccer coach were trying to dig their way out when they heard voices in the darkness. Their coach quickly told everyone to be quiet.
“We weren’t sure if it was for real,” said 14-yearold Adul Samon. “So we stopped and listened. And it turned out to be true. I was shocked.”
That stunning moment when two British divers found the missing soccer team was recounted by the boys Wednesday at their first news conference since the rescue that riveted the world.
They all looked healthy as they walked out to applause from classmates and reporters in a hall decked out as a miniature soccer field. Dressed in green, white and black uniforms emblazoned with a red wild boar — the nickname of their team — the boys briefly showed off their ball-handling skills before answering questions that were reviewed in advance.
The boys and their 25year-old coach had come
Musk apologizes to British diver
BANGKOK — Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has apologized for calling a British diver involved in the Thailand cave rescue a pedophile, saying he spoke in anger but was wrong to do so.
There was no immediate public reaction from diver Vern Unsworth to Musk’s latest tweets.
Musk’s initial tweet calling Unsworth a “pedo” was a response to a TV interview Unsworth gave. In it, he said Musk and SpaceX engineers orchestrated a “PR stunt” by sending a small submarine to help divers rescue the 12 Thai soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave.
Unsworth said the submarine, which wasn’t used, wouldn’t have worked anyway.
“My words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths,” Musk tweeted. from the hospital where they have been recuperating for more than a week. They hugged their friends before taking seats with doctors and members of the Thai navy SEALs who rescued them from the Tham Luang cave after more than two weeks.
Each member of the Wild Boars stood and introduced himself by name and position. The SEALs were introduced, but they used pseudonyms and wore baseball caps and sunglasses to cloak their identities for security reasons.
In one poignant and emotional moment, a portrait was displayed of Saman Gunan, the former Thai navy SEAL diver who died in the rescue attempt, and the team members showed their gratitude and respect for him. One of the boys, Chanin Vibulrungruang, covered his eyes as if wiping away a tear.
Adul was the logical choice to tell how the British divers discovered them because it was he who had greeted the divers in English in the murky video on July 2 that was seen around the world.
The Wild Boars had entered the cave on June 23 for what was to be a relaxing excursion after soccer practice. But rain began, and water soon filled the cavern, cutting off their escape.
Coach Ekapol “Ake” Chanthawong said the trip was meant to last one hour, simply because “each of us wanted to see what was inside.”