BACK IN THE ‘CAVE’
Thai kids’ mall exhibit
Less than two months after escaping death in a flooded Thai cave, the Wild Boars boys soccer team was trotted out by government authorities Thursday to re-enact their harrowing rescue in a prop cavern, complete with the sound of dripping water.
Psychologists had instructed the kids’ families to keep them out of the public eye and to give them a six-month respite from speaking about their nearly three-week ordeal in the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand — but the country’s government apparently didn’t care.
The 12 boys and their 25year-old coach were brought out at the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok and made to crawl though the dark, cramped 30-foot-long replica cave, set up as part of an exhibition hosted by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his wife.
The interactive exhibition, called “Tham Luang Incredible Mission: The Global Agenda,” also featured underwater-robot displays, dive suits and other items related to the rescue that captured the world’s attention.
Still, the boys were all smiles as they made their way through the model, and most told reporters that they had not been changed by the death-defying experience.
“My life is the same,” one said, echoing comments made by several others. “But more people are approaching me.”
The team was later feted in Bangkok’s Royal Plaza with a government-sponsored dinner.
The Wild Boars ventured into the cave network in Chiang Rai province on June 23 and became trapped by flash flooding.
They were found by divers July 2 and rescued a week later in a daring multinational operation during which a former Thai navy SEAL drowned.
Officials plan to officially declared the navy diver a national hero.
The government has constructed a museum to commemorate the rescue.