Thais said we had a death wish but we saved FOUR more no one knew about
DIVERS Rick Stanton and John Volanthen were hailed heroes for snaking through the pitch-black waters of a flooded cave to save 12 boys and their soccer coach.
The world was gripped as the pair and two British colleagues led rescuers to reach the group 1.5 miles inside Thailand’s Tham Luang cave.
The boys were entombed for 17 days before being hauled to safety.
But first, Rick reveals, he and John had to save FOUR other lives – rescuers who had become trapped in the hell hole.
And that was after convincing Thai authorities to let them go in.
Speaking on the third anniversary of the drama – now being made into a Hollywood blockbuster starring Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell – Rick says: “We surfaced in the third underground chamber and four men, in their 20s and 40s, came running towards us.
“They had been sent in to help pump water from the cave but no one knew they were missing, which is an indication of the chaos.
“They were on a plateau of sand and the water was rising.
“In a few hours they would have been treading water.
“We had to rescue them there and then by putting regulators in their mouths and swimming 800 meters to the entrance.
HARROWING
“The older one really panicked and I describe it as an underwater wrestling match.
“After that, the authorities started taking us seriously.”
The divers then led a team – including fellow Brits Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell and Aussie anaesthetist Richard Harris – who would literally steer the stranded boys to safety.
Rick, who has written a book about the rescue, says: “It was hard work and harrowing. Imagine you’re on the Tube system in London but you’ve never been there before, you are blindfolded and it is flooded with a strong current that is forcing you back all the time.
“One of the boys had a lung problem from being in a damp environment for two weeks and, when I first surfaced, he was blue and barely breathing.
“Dr Harris was right behind me and we got him into the recovery position and we took an hour stabilising him before we carried on. I was the last one out that day.
“It was a huge relief when we got them all out alive.
“Someone had a big bottle of Jack Daniels, there were buckets of KFC and Thai food and it was a little bit of a party atmosphere. I’ve spent 42 years going in caves and I feel proud that we were not only able to rescue the boys but bring all of them out alive against all the odds.”
The boys – from the Wild Boar junior football club – were aged 11 to 16 when they and their 25-year-old coach went exploring the Tham Luang
These men were on a plateau with water rising ...they ran towards us
RICK STANTON BRIT DIVER IN THAI CAVE RESCUE OPERATION
Nang Non caves in northern Thailand. It was June 23, 2018.
But a monsoon swept in and flooded all the exits.
The group travelled further into the caves until they became trapped on a chamber ledge nearly 1.5 miles from the entrance – but with no idea they were in so deep.
Their plight captured the attention of the world and the likes of Rick and John were drafted in because of their diving expertise.
Rick, a former West Midlands firefighter, admits that when he first arrived on the scene the conditions were so challenging he feared the boys must have already drowned.
He says: “We felt we could make a difference but it was hugely chaotic.
“In Thailand they have a culture where no one can refuse to do anything, so they had people doing jobs they have no knowledge of, like going in the cave.
REFUSED
“We arrived at 6pm and wanted to go straight in but were refused entry. It took about an hour to get permission. The Thais said, ‘Let them go in if they want to kill themselves’.”
It was five days later that the Brits reached the boys.
Food and oxygen was supplied to the fatigued group and the divers exited the cave while a safe rescue plan was formulated.
There was fierce debate about how to bring them back. At one point Tesla founder Elon Musk offered to supply what has been dubbed a mini-submarine – but Rick reveals he cut the American billionaire short.
He explains: “The whole Musk thing was a red herring and it plays no part in the movie. He showed me the pod and spoke of it in glowing terms, but I had to tell him, ‘All I see is a tube’ – it had no way of supporting life.
“I spoke to Elon on the phone and, while I didn’t hang up on him, I told him, ‘I’ve got to go,’ which I don’t think he’s used to.”
A plan was eventually formed to sedate the group of boys with ketamine so that they would not panic while being carefully pushed to safety through the water, wearing wetsuits and buoyancy aids.
With a team of divers relaying tanks of oxygen to colleagues deeper in the cave system, the rescue began on July 8 and would take two days.
Waters were so high that divers – and the boys – were at risk of bashing their heads on the cave roof.
Once through the trickiest sections, the boys emerged into chamber three and were passed along a “daisy chain” of hundreds of rescuers to safety.
They all recovered. And, incredibly, Rick also reveals that the boys still revisit the cave. He says: “A few months ago I was sent pictures of one of them graduating from school, which was
Seeing Viggo morph into me was so amazing... his hair has never been so short BALDING RICK ON BOND HE FORMED WITH MOVIE STAR
nice. I’m told they still go in the cave on fun trips. It hasn’t put them off !”
The Brit rescuers were later reunited with the boys, who were flown in to see their heroes receive bravery gongs at the Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards in 2018.
There was tragedy, however – one Thai diver died during the rescue and, months later, a second lost his life to a blood infection picked up while in the cave.
CHATS
The blockbuster movie version – Thirteen Lives, directed by Ron Howard – was filmed in Australia.
Farrell, 45, plays 49-year-old John while Mortensen, 62, trims his famous locks to play balding 60-year-old Rick.
The Brit says: “It was amazing to see Viggo morph into me. Some people actually struggled to tell us apart.”
Irish actor Farrell had long chats with Bristolbased IT consultant John to make sure he nailed both his character’s accent and mannerisms.
Viggo went a step further and got Rick to meet him in Australia to work as a consultant on the film for six weeks from March.
The two have become firm friends, although Rick admits the actor struggled to understand certain aspects of British sarcasm and banter.
He says: “Viggo is fun and we have a laugh but I’m not sure we have the same sense of humour. Mine is quite dry and it took him a while to understand that I was joking when I made certain comments.
“One thing I’m really proud of is that we’ve got ‘cockwomble’ into a Hollywood movie, even though no one will understand it. It means an endearing buffoon and you use it instead of saying idiot. John called me that on the plane to Thailand because I packed an inflated inner tube rather than a regular buoyancy aid and he was hugely embarrassed.
“The film does portray the typical British banter between us and there is a lot of it. John’s ultra-tidy and I’m ultramessy – I scatter everything while John has a nice and neat corner.
“You see John walking over what I call my wardrobe ‘floor-drobe’ and they’ve also recreated both of our houses.
“Colin plays John exceptionally well and looks so much like him, with the same haircut, that I would sometimes call him ‘John’ by accident.
“Viggo also looks so like me and he had to cut his hair short to play me.
“He told me he’s never had it cut short before, so I had to apologise.
“I think he’s an excellent fit to play me as he’s age appropriate.
“He took me out for my 60th birthday in Australia and not once did we get bothered or recognised – we were just two middle-aged men having a drink.”
features@sundaymirror.co.uk ■■Rick’s book Aquanaut: A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue, by Penguin, is out now.