Cave kids relive horror
Rainwater kept them alive They tried digging out They thought they were hallucinating when help came
They thought they were hallucinating.
Following 10 days stuck in an subterranean cave and subsisting on water drips from stalactites, the 12 boys of the Wild Boars soccer team in Thailand thought they’d imagined the voices they were hearing in the darkness.
“It happened in the evening,” recalled 14-year-old Adul Sam-on. “We heard people speaking. We were not sure if it was a hallucination, then we went quieter and realized it was real.
“It was a miracle,” Adul said of the moment British rescue divers came upon him and his teammates on July 2, huddled on a rocky slope deep in the Tham Luang cave network. “It was the first glimpse of hope.
“They asked me, ‘How are you?’ and although my brain wasn’t really functioning, I replied ‘I’m OK,” Adul, who can speak English, went on. “Everybody was happy. It was the most hopeful moment in 10 days.”
Adul recalled their miraculous rescue at a press conference on Wednesday, the first time the youngsters and their coach, newly released from a hospital, have spoken publicly since the three-day mission from July 8 to July 10.
When the boys — ranging in age from 11 to 16 — started exploring the cave with their coach after practice on June 23, none of them had any idea it was the start of a brutal ordeal in which they’d be left starving in the dark for days — or that their excursion would set off a grueling, multinational search-and-rescue effort.
“We planned to go for an hour,” said the coach, Ekkapol “Ake” Chantawong.
The teammates had left their bikes at the cave’s entrance and hurried in with little water and a single flashlight. Most hadn’t even told their parents about the planned adventure.
And as they traveled a couple miles in, rainwater from a sudden monsoon started flooding the cave network.
When they tried to make their way out, they noticed puddles that weren’t there on their way in.
“Are we lost?” yelled 14-yearold Ekkarat Wongsookchan.
“No,” 25-year-old Chantawong answered. “There’s only one way in.” The coach daringly made his way into the waters, trailing a rope behind him to see what was going on — but had to be pulled back by the boys when he realized the tunnel was submerged.
“We cannot go out this way,” he told them. “We saw water dripping from the walls, so we stayed near the water source,” the coach recounted.
“At the time, we were not scared because we thought the water would go down and someone would rescue us. Before we slept, we prayed to Buddha,” Chantawong told reporters during the televised broadcast.
But the following morning, the water levels hadn’t gone down.
“We realized we were trapped,” the coach said.
Some of the boys started panicking in the darkness. Others tried to keep their cool.
Ekkarat said he decided “to try to fix the problem and find a way out. Be calm and not shocked.”
The group took turns digging with rocks to see if they could drain some of the water — and because it at least gave them something to do. “We didn’t want to wait around until authorities found us,” the coach said.
Without any food, the boys subsided days by drinking water that dripped from the walls of the cave.
“On the first day, we were OK. But after two days, we started feeling tired,” said 16-year-old Pornchai “Tee” Kamluang.
The youngest of the boys, 11year-old Chanin “Titan” Wiboonrungrueng, said the hunger was almost unbearable.
“I almost fainted,” he said. “I had no strength at all. I tried not to think about food.”
The boys were also consumed by thoughts of their parents and how worried — and angry — they
must have been. “I felt scared. I was afraid I wouldn’t get to go home and my mom would scold me,” said 13-year-old Mongkol Boonpiam.
Even once they were found, the question of how to get the boys out remained. They were given food by rescuers, including three Thai navy SEALs who stayed with them throughout the opera- tion, joking and playing checkers with rocks.
“For nine days we had many things to share. They are like my children now,” army doctor Lt. Col. Phak Lohanchun said.
One boy described a SEAL as “like my dad.”
To get the kids out, they had to be sedated and fitted with full face masks and thick wet suits as rescue divers led them on a threehour journey through a narrow, rocky passageway.
In one emotional moment at the press conference, a portrait was displayed of the former Thai navy SEAL diver who died during the rescue operation — the lone casualty — as he ran out of air while placing tanks along the route.
The teammates read statements expressing their gratitude to Saman Kunan, some while covering their eyes and wiping away tears.
“I want to say thank you. Thank you from the depths of my heart,” one boy said.
“Everyone was very sad,” added the coach, Chantawong.
“We felt guilty because of his death. He sacrificed his life to protect and save us, the 13 Wild Boars, so we could go back outside and be happy, live a normal life. We have caused suffering for Saman’s family.”
The boys and coach spent six days in the hospital, building up strength and recovering from minor injuries. Still, authorities are worried about their mental health — especially because of how their miraculous rescue story captivated the world.
Psychologists vetted the journalists’ questions in advance of the press conference to avoid bringing up any aspects of the ordeal that might disturb the youngsters. They also implored that the boys’ privacy be respected once they get home.
“We want the boys to have regular lives and go back to school and . . . to have time with families and activities they like,” said psychologist Patchaneewan Inta.
The boys, who sported haircuts and jerseys with a graphic of a red wild boar, were asked what they’d learned from their experience. Many said they’d start living less careless lives — some said they’d never set foot in the cave again.
“This experience taught me we should plan carefully,” said 14year-old Adul. “From now on, I will live my life carefully.”
Mongkol added, “I [now] have more patience, endurance, tolerance.”
Some in the group said they wanted to become navy SEALs and others revealed they now felt strong enough to become professional soccer players.
“Earlier. I wanted to be a professional footballer — now I want to be a SEAL too,” said Ekkarat.
The boys and their coach said they’d had fun watching the World Cup final in the hospital — and most of them were rooting for the French team, which defeated Croatia.
They finally returned home to their families on Wednesday night.
Khameuy Promthep, Ekkarat’s grandmother, said she was very excited to have him home.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” she said.
About 30 relatives of 13-yearold Duangpetch Promthep gathered at his home to welcome him back, and cheering when he walked in.
Banphot Konkum, the uncle who raised him, tearfully gave him a bear hug.
“We’ll do whatever he wants,” Konkum said. “If he wants anything, we’ll buy it for him as a present, as we promised that when he gets out. Whatever he wants we’ll do it for him.”