Out of the labyrinth: relief as trapped boys free at last
■ Joy as final four footballers and coach pulled out of flooded caves ■ Rescuers tell of terror – and their delight as boys reached the surface ■ Doctors say all 13 are well but will be held in isolation for a week
EXHAUSTED and dishevelled, Thai rescue workers returned to their guesthouse in the northern town of Mae Sai late last night, desperate for bed and a shower but visibly relieved that their dramatic mission to save 12 young boys and their football coach had been a success.
“We are so happy. I feel like a mountain has been removed from my chest,” said one man carrying a helmet under his arm. “Do you know the film ‘Armageddon’, where they have to save the world? That’s what this has felt like.”
News broke shortly before 7pm local time that the last of the 12 boys, aged 11-16, and Ekapol Chanthawong, their 25-year-old coach, had been pulled safely from deep inside the 9km Tham Luang cave by a dedicated team of 19 elite divers, supported by thousands of volunteers.
The dangerous two-week rescue mission under terrifying conditions has transfixed the world, but rescue workers had largely shunned the attention, describing an atmosphere of intense concentration on the job.
Dr Suttiwit Junpirom, a former Thai Navy Seal who was working at the entrance to the cave, described the moment Mr Chanthawong, the last remaining survivor, was stretchered out to medics as “calm and subdued”.
“When the last person came out there was no cheering, just relief that we had finished our mission,” he said.
“Inside the cave it was dark and quiet. Everyone was just very focused.”
By contrast, a huge cheer of joy erupted among tired local
‘The film “Armageddon”, where they have to save the world, that’s what this has felt like’
volunteers outside the cave as a medevac helicopter flew overhead in the early evening to take the final survivors to hospital.
As news broke that the entire team had been saved from the labyrinthine cave complex, jubilation spread across Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province, with car horns honking and social media lighting up with congratulations for the tireless rescue teams.
“This is an important event in my life,” said a visibly emotional Rachapol Ngamgrabuan, an official at Chiang Rai’s press office. “There were times when I cried. Happy. Very happy to see all Thai people love each other.”
“We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what. All the 13 Wild Boars are now out of the cave,” said the Thai Navy Seals, who had spearheaded the mission, on Facebook, referring to the name of the children’s football team.
The mood among rescuers had been overwhelmingly optimistic from the outset yesterday despite heavy rainfall. Under overcast skies, Narongsak Osottanakorn, the Chiang Rai governor and head co-ordinator of the mission, correctly predicted shortly before noon that all five remaining survivors would be free by the end of the day.
Four boys and their coach were still waiting to be rescued after eight of their team-mates had been extracted in two batches on Sunday and Monday.
Three Navy Seals and an army medic had remained to look after them in their underground prison.
The boys started to leave the cave in quick succession shortly after 4pm, with all 13 free by 7pm. Shortly afterwards, the final Seals and the doctor emerged from the cave.
Rescuers had begun the day of the third rescue mission in a buoyant mood. A support team of former Navy Seals spotted at a guesthouse headed off at 8.30am with a traditional shout of “Hooyah!” after a rousing pep talk.
“We’re strong!” shouted the 15-strong group, in good spirits as they posed for photos and crossed their forearms in the Seals’ trademark symbol.
When they returned shortly after 11pm, their “Hooyah!” was more subdued, but still defiant. Their mission was complete.
In escaping through a perilous, cragged passageway, much of which was submerged for over a kilometre, the boys have shown courage and resolve in conditions that would challenge even the most experienced of divers.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Thai prime minister, confirmed that they had been given anti-anxiety medication to help stay calm.
Ivan Karadzic, a Danish diver involved in the rescue, described the full terror of the cave in an interview with the BBC.
“They are forced to do something that no kid has ever done before. They are diving in something considered [an] extremely hazardous environment in zero visibility,” he said.
Mr Karadzic spoke of his own trepidation the first time he saw a child coming towards him under water.
“I was very scared, because when I saw the diver and the kid in the horizon, we can’t see that far but maybe about 50 metres, I still didn’t know if it was a casualty or a kid,” he said. “But when I saw that he was alive and breathing and seemed to be all right, it felt very good.”
Despite their ordeal, the boys appear to be in good health although doctors said yesterday that they would be kept in medical isolation for at least a week.
Mr Osottanakorn said the “real hero of Tham Luang” was Saman Kunan, the former Navy Seal who died last week when he ran out of air on a return dive. “I wish Saman sleeps well,” he said.
He also praised the impressive co-operation of rescue workers. “Today Thai people, Team Thailand achieved the mission impossible.”
Relatives of the survivors were ecstatic. As the good news was broken to Umporn Sriwathai, the aunt of the coach, over the phone, she said that she wanted to “jump in the air”. “I’m so happy!” she exclaimed, as she prepared to rush to the hospital to greet him.