Thai boys tell how they tried to dig their way to freedom with bare hands... but only got 4 yards
TERRIFIED and trapped in the darkness of a Thai cave, they had spent nine days licking drops of water from stalactites to survive.
Fearing they would never be rescued, the 12 young footballers and their coach took turns to dig at the rocks, they revealed yesterday.
But then came the ‘moment of miracle’ as volunteer British potholers emerged from the water in front of their muddy ledge.
In their first interview, the young members of the Wild Boars squad, dressed in matching team shirts, told how they had prayed for the moment.
‘It was magical,’ said Adul Sam- on, 14, the only English-speaking member of team, who at first could merely say ‘Hello’ as divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton surfaced.
Then he asked the rescuers what day it was. ‘I had to think a lot before I could answer their questions,’ he said.
The group spent a further six days underground while the Britons and elite Thai navy Seal divers put together a rescue that Adul said was ‘a miracle’, adding: ‘ This experience teaches me not to live life carelessly.’
They had become trapped on June 23 after the boys said they wanted to look inside the Tham Luang cave, as some had not visited before. They took no food as they intended to spend only an hour exploring the tunnels. When they turned back, they found the cave had started to flood and their exit was blocked, so they retreated and found a slope to shelter on as they waited for the water level to drop. But it began rising fast, so the coach Ekkapol Chantawong led them still further inside to find higher ground.
Mr Chantawong, 25, said: ‘ We tried to dig out as we thought we cannot just wait for authorities to get us. We took turns digging at the cave walls.’
They tunnelled more than four yards, but were miles from safety. Youngest member Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, 11, said: ‘I had no strength. I tried not to think about food so I didn’t get more hungry.’ But he added defiantly: ‘This is my big experience that makes me stronger.’
One boy admitted: ‘I was afraid – that I would get scolded by my mother.’ Another added: ‘I told everyone fight on, don’t despair.’ All the boys said they wanted to apologise to their parents. Once they were found, a Thai diver stayed with them, playing draughts and ‘winning most of the time’. Ekkarat Wongsukchan, 14, said: ‘We called him king of the cave.’
Coach Chantawong said the order in which the boys eventually left the cave did not depend on their health, explaining: ‘The ones whose homes are the furthest went first, so they could tell everyone that the boys were fine.’
The boys plan to spend time as novice monks in honour of the Thai diver who died during the operation after running out of air.
‘Everyone was very sad,’ said the coach. ‘They felt like they were the reason he had to die and his family had to suffer.’ Mongkol Boonpiam, 13, when asked what the experience had taught him, said: ‘I feel stronger, I have more patience, endurance, tolerance.’
Several boys said they wanted to become professional footballers, while four hope to emulate the heroes who saved them.
‘I want to be a navy Seal because I want to help others,’ said one. The 13 looked healthy after more than a week in hospital. Following the press conference, which also involved the Thai divers, they were allowed home to their families.
Doctors said the boys had lost an average of 9lb in the cave but had since regained 6.6lb.
But justice ministry official Tawatchai Thaikaew said: ‘We don’t know what wounds the kids are carrying in their hearts.’
‘I tried not to think about food’