Thailand - FOUND ALIVE - 12 Boys And Coach Rescued from Cave, 23 June 2018 #6

[*Verdigris]

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This video, the reporter says one of the kids has a torn ligament in his ankle - hope it's not too severe, so he can kick the ️ again soon!
He also said that the initial hero in this entire mission is Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who lives there in MaeSai. He (reporter) said without Mr. Unsworth getting the ball (no pun intended this time) rolling, this rescue wouldn't have been possible.
He said Mr. Unsworth, doesn't care to speak with the media.
I did find a few articles... here's a couple:

Vernon Unsworth, a British diver who lives in Thailand, said he knew the cave intimately as he had been exploring its tunnels for six years. He said the conditions were “getting hostile”, and whether or not the boys were alive “depends where they are”.

He said: “If they’re in the right place they can survive for five or six days. But the water now, the floodwater, is getting higher and higher, so there will be a point in time where even this cave here, the entrance will close.”

Cave boys' relatives keep vigil as rescue effort grips Thailand

British caver is hailed a 'magician' after convincing Thai officials to bring in heroic UK divers who found stranded schoolboys, aided by his knowledge of the tunnels
Brit caver hailed magician for getting Thais to recruit hero divers | Daily Mail Online

I think I recall hearing about him in the beginning; but now he's kind of a forgotten hero... well not to anyone involved, but in the more recent reports. Sounds like he might like it that way, but he definitely needs to be remembered and recognized. Wow, once again.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Wait, what? John & Rick had been at the cave just 2 weeks before this all happened?

'Vern told me he knew some English guys who could definitely help. They are his friends and they had been here at the cave a couple of weeks before.

Brit caver hailed magician for getting Thais to recruit hero divers | Daily Mail Online

 

[*Verdigris]

Wait, what? John & Rick had been at the cave just 2 weeks before this all happened?

'Vern told me he knew some English guys who could definitely help. They are his friends and they had been here at the cave a couple of weeks before.

Brit caver hailed magician for getting Thais to recruit hero divers | Daily Mail Online

I know, isn't that wild? It was reported early on. But see - early details being forgotten.
I don't think it was flooded then though, for diving. Maybe it was - or maybe they were checking it out, "dry-run" getting a feel for it, for future diving? I always meant to find out, but never did.
Anyway, I thought that was so surprising, too.

 

[Gardener1850]

￣
Gards! yikes, idk what happened...
I thought you had just snipped the first part of my post when you replied, but I just now saw mine, as I was catching up on reading...
and the first part of my original post is missing! lol.
I often write in notepad, and then copy and paste into the reply box...
Here's what should have been at the beginning of that post:


That part is still on my notepad... not sure why it didn't get copied over. Unless I did something wonky when I edited it? (wouldn't be the first time.)
So, yeah -- see, I shouldn't write posts when I'm in a hurry!
Right now I have a headache, and am a bit sleepy, so I hope this one goes over OK.

No worries Verdi! I think we are in agreement and both hope they will accept any accolades or honors given

 

[Gardener1850]

Wait, what? John & Rick had been at the cave just 2 weeks before this all happened?

'Vern told me he knew some English guys who could definitely help. They are his friends and they had been here at the cave a couple of weeks before.

Brit caver hailed magician for getting Thais to recruit hero divers | Daily Mail Online

Wow. How providential that they were there just prior. So they knew this cave before they started to search. This explains why they had in mind where the drier spots might be and where the boys might be sheltering... I wonder if they have any go-pro cam video from the two weeks before trip to show what the cave was like then.

 

[*Verdigris]

'The pressure was immense': Hero Australian doctor at the centre of the Thai cave rescue pens an emotional account revealing how the 12 boys and their coach were miraculously saved



Not sure how that image will work on everyone's devices, but there is also text of it, at the link:

Australian doctor at the centre of Thai cave rescue mission pens emotional account of the operation | Daily Mail Online
＿

 

[WichitaFalls]

Lovely people, lovely tribute. Thailand is now on my bucket list.

Boys meant to stay 1 hour in cave, but outside, rains began

. . . Banphot said all 13 rescued team members will enter the monkhood to pay tribute to Saman Kunan, a former Thai navy SEAL who died while diving to place essential supplies along the rescue route. Becoming a monk at a temple for at least a short period is a way of making merit in Thai Buddhist tradition.

“We are planning the date and will do it whenever all the families are all ready,” said Banphot . . .
More at link. Boys meant to stay 1 hour in cave, but outside, rains began

 

[DakotaMayi]

This reminds me of a famous quote here by Carbuff (I think) in response to another poster. Hope I've got the exact words:

"Look, if any of us wanted to mind our own business, we wouldn't be here"

Oh my, that is my quote of the week for sure!

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Oh my, that is my quote of the week for sure!

Pretty sure s/he said it in 2013 in response to someone saying mind your own business, and a couple of people had it on their signature line. Iconic, haha!

 

[enelram]

per WFTG TV Orlando-
3 of boys have ear infections- viral tests not back yet.
Not surprising to me they have ear problems- common after diving.

 

[Gardener1850]

Posting a message to Facebook along with a photo and himself and dive partner Craig Challen in the back of an RAAF C17 transport aircraft, Dr Harris reflected on "the extraordinary events of the past eight days".

Dr Harris and Mr Challen were deployed as part of a small Australian medical assistance team (AUSMAT) sent to the rescue in Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand.

The Adelaide doctor, who was tasked with giving the medical all-clear for each evacuation and decided what order the boys would leave the cave in, was the last person out of the cave following the daring mission.

<modsnipped to comply with copyright rule>

Aussie cave diver pays tribute to everyone involved in Thai rescue

All these heroes are genuine class acts-- giving credit to everyone and saying they were no more important than anyone else. I Love them more for their humility.

 

[Gardener1850]

“By the time we arrived on site, local divers ... had already been doing the most extraordinary dives through the cave and laying the very robust rope which made all subsequent dives to the soccer team not only possible, but safe,” wrote Harris.
“The efforts and skill of these guys in blazing this trail cannot be underestimated. Following someone else’s line is very much easier than finding your own way.

<modsnipped to comply with copyright rule>
Read more at link: 'Immense pressure' of Thai cave rescue described by doctor

 

[Gardener1850]

Dr Harris praised Thailand’s efforts during the rescue mission, and the huge assistance provided by the international community.

“(They provided) everything from catering, communications, media and of course the huge teams of workers filling the cave with tonnes and tonnes of equipment to try and lower the water and sustain the diving operations,” he wrote on Facebook.

<snipped to comply with copyright rule>
Thailand cave rescue: Richard Harris opens up about experience on flight home to Australia | Daily Telegraph

 

[Gardener1850]

Nopparat Khanthavong, the 37-year-old coach of the Wild Boars, knew his assistant coach had taken some of the younger players out for a Saturday bike ride while he watched his older team play.

After the final whistle, Nopparat checked his phone and saw at least 20 worried messages from his players’ parents asking why the bike riders had not returned. When he learned the children had persuaded his assistant to take them into the six-mile-deep Tham Luang Nang Non cave, he headed that way.

<modsnipped to comply with copyright rule>

The head coach called his friend the mayor of a nearby village to ask for help.
More details at link: ‘Time is running out’: Inside the treacherous rescue of boys trapped in a Thai cave

 

[Gardener1850]

MANILA - The Royal Thai Embassy in Manila has expressed its gratitude for the lone Filipino in the dramatic rescue mission to extract 12 young footballers and their coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand.
In its official Facebook page, the embassy thanked volunteers from all over the world including Christoffer John 'Cedjie' Aquino, a Filipino rock climber and English teacher from Davao who has been living in Thailand for 17 years now.

<modsnipped to comply with copyright rule>

Thai embassy thanks lone Filipino in dramatic cave rescue

 

[Gardener1850]

Authorities in Bangkok confirmed that Mr Chantawong and three of the trapped boys were “not Thai citizens”, but officials have now promised to provide them legal assistance and say that, if there are no complications, all will have Thai nationality within six months.

<modsnipped to comply with copyright rule>
'Stateless' Thai boys and coach to be given citizenship after cave rescue

 

[Gardener1850]

Following the successful rescue of 12 young soccer players and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand, the country’s Navy SEALs will now implement cave-diving into its training regimen to be better prepared for unforeseen emergencies.

“SEALs need cave-diving training,” said Navy SEAL Commander Rear Adm. Apakorn Yukongkaew when asked to name post-mission priorities for his SEAL unit, according to local paper the Bangkok Post.

Thailand's Navy SEALs Will Add Cave-Diving to Their Training

 

[Angela_Beckett]

This is so pure, honorable and good

. . . Banphot said all 13 rescued team members will enter the monkhood to pay tribute to Saman Kunan, a former Thai navy SEAL who died while diving to place essential supplies along the rescue route. Becoming a monk at a temple for at least a short period is a way of making merit in Thai Buddhist tradition.

“We are planning the date and will do it whenever all the families are all ready,” said Banphot . . .
More at link.

 

[Spellbound]

Link from WichitaFalls earlier:

Boys meant to stay 1 hour in cave, but outside, rains began

They were only planning to stay for one hour:

Banphot Konkum, father of 13-year-old Duangpetch Promthep, told The Associated Press his son — better known by his nickname, Dom — said the team members didn’t know rain had started falling after they had entered the cave on June 23. But the rain caused flooding in the cave, blocking them from exiting.

“After an hour when they wanted to leave, the water level was rising. They ran further inside the cave to escape from the water. The water flow was strong,” said Banphot.

In their search for a safe haven, the boys were reported to have used their hands to feel the walls for an opening to take them to a higher, safer spot. Searchers later found what they thought were the boys’ handprints, giving them confidence the boys were alive and that the searchers were on the right path.

“They, all 13 of them, saw a small passage or a crawl space, so they all dug the hole to get through to another spot, until they found Nen Nom Sao,” Banphot said, referring to the sandy slope on which they ended up sheltering. There was nowhere else to go.

 

[enelram]

Thailand's Navy SEALs Will Add Cave-Diving to Their Training

I read this was a direct order from the Thai King and there was
an article in a Thai newspaper right after the Brits came in to organize the rescue. the King said he wanted the thai Seals to
be as good at cave diving as the"British". My thoughts were,
while it's great in theory but the King doesn't realize that the
"British" guys (and the other expert divers) have many years
of experience in cave diving under their belts. But any type of additional training for the Seals is good.