12 Thai Boys, Coach Rescued, Safe, Says Navy SEAL Unit
Thailand has inspired the world, says Atiku
All 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped for more than two weeks deep inside a flood Thai cave have been rescued, a Thai navy SEAL unit said yesterday.
The rescue is a successful end to a perilous mission that has gripped the world.
“The 12 Wild Boars and coach have emerged from the cave and they are safe,” the Thai navy SEAL unit said on its official Facebook page.
The “Wild Boars” soccer team and their coach got trapped on June 23 while exploring the cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai after soccer practice and a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels.
British divers found the 13, hungry and huddled in darkness on a muddy bank in a partly flooded chamber several kilometers inside the complex, on July 2.
After pondering for days how to get the 13 out, a rescue operation was launched on Sunday when four of the boys were brought out, tethered to rescue divers.
Another four were rescued on Monday and the last four boys and the coach were brought out yesterday.
Celebrations will be tinged with sadness over the loss of a former Thai navy diver who died last Friday while on a re-supply mission inside the cave in support of the rescue.
Meanwhile, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has sent hearty congratulations to the government and people of Thailand now that all the 12 Thai teenage football players and their youthful coach have been saved.
“As I said while the saga was ongoing, the length to which the Thai authorities went to save the lives of these youths shows that Thailand is a nation that values human life,” Atiku said in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State yesterday in continuation of his nationwide consultations with PDP stakeholders.
According to Atiku, Thailand has, by this action, increased the worth of human life and inspired nations around the world to use their resources not just to further the interest of their governments and elite citizens, but to pursue the wellbeing of all citizens, rich or poor.
“Nigeria has a lot to learn from Thailand. We also have a youth in captivity. Just as Thailand did not spare any expense to free these 13 youths, Nigeria must not spare any expense to ensure that Leah Sharibu, that young girl of admirable faith, is freed by her captors and returned to her parents,” he said.
The Waziri Adamawa said that liberty and freedom is an inalienable human rights that should be obtainable in Nigeria as it is in Thailand and in any part of the world adding “Leah Sharibu deserves it as much as the Thai youths”.
Atiku Abubakar stressed that the primary role of any government is the peace, security and prosperity of its people and by this action, Thailand has raised the bar for the whole world.