The Week India - July 29, 2018

40 THE WEEK • JULY 29, 2018

THAILAND

CAVE RESCUE

be allowed to return to a normal life.

Th ey were survivors and not heroes,

other doctors had said earlier, and it

is necessary that they understand it.

Interestingly, during the course of

the interaction, the boys and coach

Ek set many a record straight. No,

they did not go in to celebrate Pheer-

aphat Sompiengjai’s birthday. In fact,

Pheeraphat had said that he wanted

to return home by 5pm that day,

because his parents were holding a

birthday celebration for him. Ek said

that the team had jointly decided to

go to Th am Luang. Some had been

there earlier, and had encountered

water in the caves, too. But, it was

nothing like the fl ooding this time. In

a diff erent interaction, British diver

Vernon Unsworth, who has dived

extensively in Th am Luang, said that

the coach and the boys were not to

blame, because the rains were three

weeks earlier than expected.

And, contrary to what most media

outlets reported, all the boys knew

how to swim. Ek said that it was

common for the team to swim after

practice. Th e coach said that the

team had decided to spend only an

hour in the cave. When they were

trapped, they did try to swim and

fi nd a way out, but realised that

would not be possible when up to 3m

of water rose in an hour. Th e coach

and players referred to Na Nong So,

a geographical formation within the

cave, as the point where they realised

that they were trapped.

And, the 13 denied reports that

they had food with them. Th ey had

nothing, and survived ten days drink-

ing water that dripped off the walls.

After some time, the water running

through the cave had cleared. Th ey

drank that as well. Th e only tools that

they had with them were powerful

fl ashlights, which they conserved.

About the rescue, they said they

heard the voices of John Volanthen

and Rick Stanton, before they saw

them. Ek sent the player who was

then holding the torch to fi nd out.

Adul Sam-On followed him. Adul,

who speaks English, said that he was

surprised to see the divers and was

more surprised when he realised that

they were not Th ai. Obviously, they

had no inkling of the international

rescue eff ort that was on.

And, another myth that the team

broke was that Dr Richard Harris,

the Australian diver and expedition

medicine specialist, had decided

who must be extracted fi rst. Dr

Harris certifi ed everyone, and the

team decided who must go fi rst. Th e

boys said that the ones whose homes

were the farthest were sent out fi rst

because they would have to cycle the

most!

Th ere were light moments in the

interaction, when the boys spoke

about the SEAL who was wearing

nothing but a pair of underwear in

REUTERS

WELCOME, WILD BOARS

People cheer for coach Ek (far

left) and the12 boys as they

arrive for the press conference