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podcast transcript
In 2018, 12 boys and their soccer coach entered a cave in northern Thailand and became trapped when monsoon rains flooded the passage.
What followed was a race against time involving thousands of rescuers, professional cave divers, engineers, soldiers and doctors from around the world.
Despite overwhelming odds, they attempted one of the most dangerous and complex rescue operations ever undertaken.
Amazingly, all of those trapped survived.
Learn more about the Tham Luang cave rescue in this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
On June 23, 2018, a Thai youth soccer team known as the ‘Wild Boars’ decided to celebrate the birthday of one of their team members after practice. The group, made up of 12 boys aged 11 to 16 and a 25-year-old assistant coach, decided to explore a nearby cave.
Caving wasn’t a new hobby for the team. They had participated in previous expeditions. They decided to enter the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in northern Thailand.
The cave system is 10 km long. It features narrow passages, winding tunnels, and deep hollows. During the dry season, the cave is relatively safe. However, the risk increases dramatically during the rainy season.
Signs warning of flooding during the rainy season are posted outside the caves to warn potential cave dwellers of the danger. The rainy season is technically defined as July to November, but that doesn’t mean heavy rains can’t occur outside of this period. During this period, the water level in the cave can reach a height of 5 meters (16 feet).
The team entered the cave with a flashlight. They left their bikes at the cave entrance and began exploring, intending to stay inside for only an hour. When they entered the cave was completely dry.
While they were in the cave, an unexpected heavy rain began to fall. This caused flooding in the cave, filling the depressions with water and blocking potential exits.
The team didn’t realize the sudden change in weather until it was too late. Panicked and fearful, the boys had to go deeper into the cave in a desperate attempt to escape the rising water and avoid drowning.
Obviously, being trapped in the cave meant that the children could not return home to their families that night. Parents, worried about their children’s safety, began calling. Most of these calls were addressed to football coach Nopparat Kanthawong.
After learning of his missing team, Kanthanwong began making his own decisions. He contacted a member of his team who did not enter the cave with the group. He was lucky because he was able to inform Kanthanwong that others had entered the cave.
Kanthanwong went to the cave as quickly as possible and noticed the boys’ bicycles at the entrance and the amount of water flooding the cave.
This discovery alerted authorities and a rescue team arrived at the cave entrance. The truth that awaited rescue workers was scary. 13 people were trapped in the cave. They had no idea where they were inside the system and the team couldn’t get out on their own.
The team found the maroon on a rock ledge about 4km from the cave entrance. There was no light, no food, no sense of time.
Despite the dire circumstances, the team worked together to make the situation more bearable. They dug about five meters into the cave wall to have more space to gather together and stay warm.
To pass the time, assistant coach Ake, a former Buddhist monk, taught the boys meditation. This had the unintended benefit of reducing the amount of oxygen the team used. Meditation also helped them preserve their strength by keeping them still.
Despite having no food, the team obtained water from the cave walls. As moisture dripped from the sides of the cave, the team had enough water to survive.
Despite the dire circumstances, the team had the right conditions to survive for a while.
While the team was stranded, authorities quickly took action. Police, Thai naval commandos, volunteers and other rescue teams responded.
Despite rapid mobilization, authorities faced uncertainty. They didn’t know where the boys were or if they were alive.
This problem is further complicated by the difficulty of actually searching the cave. Tham Luang was not the easiest cave to navigate and the professional Navy Seals they brought in had little to no cave diving experience. At the same time, rain continued to fall, blocking several access points to the cave.
The first solution proposed was to pump water out of the cave. This required several types of equipment, but the field engineers lacked expertise in cave flood management, which posed operational challenges.
Engineers used tools such as shovels, small pumps, and pipes. However, due to the enormous amount of water in the cave, most equipment proved inadequate for effective removal.
Attempts to locate the boys included cutting a hole in the mountain to access the cave chamber and deploying a heat-sensing drone to pinpoint their location.
While the engineers attempted to locate the boys, authorities decided to question the boy who had not entered the cave about his teammate. The goal was to gain more insight into where I could go to narrow down my search.
The boy said it was common for the team to go to a cave area called Pattaya Beach to help give instructions to authorities.
While the boys were missing, the community came together to bring them home. Friends, family and acquaintances gathered at the cave entrance to pray, sing and post messages about the children. Surrounding villages donated money and food to the families of the missing children.
Community support soon spread. Relief supplies came in from all over Thailand, and volunteers from all over the country flew in to bring the boys home.
This also attracted the attention of overseas media. By June 28, the United States, Britain, Australia, and other countries had been invited or volunteered to assist in search and rescue.
Experts from around the world were quickly brought in to search the cave system. The conditions for rescue divers were dire, with rising water levels, strong currents and poor visibility. These conditions forced the divers to turn back during the search.
Some progress was made by July 1, a week after the team entered the cave. The divers reached an area called ‘Chamber 3’, about 800 meters inside the cave.
The location of the chamber allowed it to serve as a base for divers, storing oxygen tanks and medical supplies. This meant that divers could easily replenish their supplies without having to leave the cave whenever oxygen ran low.
It took two more days, but British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen located the boys. The pair were searching around Pattaya Beach when they found the area flooded. As they continued further through the water, they discovered air pockets.
When they arrived at the air pocket, the two floated and shouted while catching their breath. They smelled the kids before they actually saw them. Knowing the children were nearby, the two shined their flashlights into the distance and spotted them. All 13 members of the team were there and alive.
The two talked for a while and then had to return to base, but promised to return with food. The entire interaction was captured on camera to show the world that the children survived.
Everyone was happy to see the children alive, but there was still a problem. How were they going to get the children out of the cave?
You are given three main options to rescue your team.
The first was to train the boys how to dive. This was a very risky option as many of the boys in the cave could not swim, and even if they knew how, swimming through these conditions was difficult for professional divers with years of training.
The second option was to continue pumping water out of the cave. This option was slightly less risky than teaching the boys how to dive, but there was a risk that the pumping mechanism would fail or too much water would enter the cave. Moreover, this plan would keep the boys in the cave for at least four more months.
Another option considered was to cave in or find an alternative route. This was not guaranteed to work.
Navy SEALs and a medic were with the boys to reduce waiting time while they searched for the best rescue option. They were given a special formula that helped keep the children healthy and boost their vitamin levels.
But the situation was becoming increasingly serious. Oxygen levels inside the cave were slowly dropping, and monsoon rains began to fall the following week. Rescue workers were running out of time.
In the end, the rescue team came up with a dangerous plan to save the boys. A group of experienced cave divers decided to take the children out one by one.
Each boy will be fitted with a wetsuit and diving mask and then administered sedatives. The decision to administer sedatives to render the children unconscious during their rescue was controversial but deemed necessary.
Once unconscious, the children could not panic during rescue. This was a necessary risk, because if panicked, the children could endanger both themselves and the rescue team.
The sedatives given to the boys lasted about 90 minutes, but it took three hours to get each boy out, forcing rescuers to re-administer the medication during the swim. This ensured a state of unconsciousness throughout the evacuation.
To keep the route as efficient as possible, the children were strapped to divers. This was an important step as visibility inside the cave was poor.
The boys decided on the order in which they would be rescued, and the operation lasted three days. It was so efficient that eventually a boy was delivered every 45 minutes due to the handoff system.
The boys went through a pulley system. It took about 100 divers, but it worked. After 18 difficult days, the boys emerged from the cave on Tuesday 10 July.
Despite the risks, time constraints and odds, all the boys did it. The moment the last boy was dragged out of the cave, the pump stopped working.
However, the rescue mission was not without losses. One Navy SEAL diver named Saman Gunan died during the rescue. While running to deliver oxygen to the boys on July 6, he ran out of oxygen.
Once out of the cave, the survivors were immediately taken to the hospital. They remained in the hospital for a week while their illness and overall health were monitored. Each child lost a little weight, but overall they were in good shape.
After the boys were rescued, the cave and nearby forest park were closed to the public. The Thai government planned to turn the cave into a museum to showcase the rescue efforts.
The effort was commemorated in a variety of ways. Local residents painted murals to commemorate those who participated in the rescue, and a statue was created to honor the fallen Navy SEAL. The caves and park eventually reopened and museum plans were realized, but access to certain caves was restricted.
The Tham Luang cave rescue was not just a story of survival. It was a story of discipline, courage, professionalism and cooperation, even in almost impossible circumstances. Thirteen people were trapped in the dark, but thousands of others refused to accept that they were out of reach.
This story remains one of the great rescue stories of modern history, a reminder that humans are often able to do their best when things seem to be at their worst.
