We’re not heroes, says Thailand rescue diver

Retired fireman back in UK after helping to save boys from cave

One of the divers who helped to save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand played down his heroics as he returned to Britain.

Rick Stanton denied he was a hero and said he was using a “very unique skill set” to “give something back to the community”.

Mr Stanton and several other British divers had joined the rescue mission after the football team became trapped in an underground network in Chiang Rai province following monsoon rains.

The retired fireman, from Coventry, and his colleague, John Volanthen, from Bristol, were the first divers to reach the stranded group in the Luang Nang Non Cave.

They then launched a mission to rescue the boys and their 25-year-old coach, which concluded on Tuesday after an 18-day ordeal.

The operation claimed the life of Thai navy diver Saman Kunan, who died while replenishing oxygen canisters.

The rescue was particularly treacherous because the boys, aged 11 to 16, had to swim through tight spaces despite having no previous diving experience.

Speaking on his return to the UK, Mr Stanton said: “Are we heroes? No, we were just using a very unique skill set, which we normally use for our own interests and sometimes we are able to use that and give something back to the community.

“This was completely uncharted, unprecedented territory and nothing like this has been done. So, of course there were doubts.

“I knew that we had a good team, with good support from the Thai authorities, the caving community and rescue organisations, so we had the best we could do to make a plan work.”

Mr Stanton described his relief as he and Mr Volanthen discovered that the boys were still alive – nine days after they went missing deep within the labyrinth.

We were just using a very unique skill set, which we normally use for our own interests and sometimes we are able to use that and give something back to the community.

RICK STANTON