Thai Cave Rescue: How Were the Boys Rescued From Tham Luang?

Thirteen Lives looks into the Thai cave rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from Tham Luang. The boys of the Wild Boars football team and their coach were trapped in a cave in Thailand for several days in June 2018. Subsequent efforts resulted in a miraculous rescue of the young boys aged between 11 and 17. The world watched the ordeal unravel as rescuers removed them one by one from the deep cave. They first sedated those trapped with ketamine before divers rescued them through dark and tight underwater passageways.

After the rescue, Netflix released a documentary, The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave, and a limited series titled Thai Cave Rescue. A second documentary, The Rescue, also premiered in 2021, chronicling the ordeal. Additionally, Ron Howard’s film Thirteen Lives, starring Colin Farrell, debuted the following year.

How were the Tham Luang Thai cave boys rescued?

According to BBC, the Tham Luang Thai cave rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach was a 17-day ordeal that made global news. It comprised rescuers and volunteers from Thai Navy Seals, the national police, and other local and national authorities. Additionally, help arrived from the US Air Force rescue specialists and cave divers from the UK, Belgium, and Australia, among other countries.

The 13 trapped inside the Tham Luang cave included 12 boys from the Wild Boars football team. Their 25-year-old coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, was also present with them. On June 23, 2018, they were exploring the Chiang Rai cave complex when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels, trapping them inside. Chantawong, a former monk, taught the young boys survival tricks and helped them keep calm.

BBC reported that rescuers and experts initially intended to launch the Thai cave rescue operation once the rainy season ended. They planned to keep those 13 trapped supplied with food and oxygen tanks. However, there was a risk of heavy rains, which could increase the water levels inside the cave. They launched the rescue operation on July 8, 2018. Rescue divers, using specialist breathing equipment, reached them through water-filled passages.

Divers who participated in the operation and other sources told the outlet that they first sedated the boys. They did not want to risk the young boys panicking in the dark, tight, underwater passageways. The boys also got full-face breathing masks and were strapped to rescue divers. These divers then followed dive lines in the dark passageways. This way, rescuers removed the 13 people trapped in the cave one by one.

Reportedly, British rescuer John Volanthen was one of the divers involved in the Thai cave rescue operation. He claimed they first practiced rescue techniques with local Thai boys in a pool. Then, during the ordeal, they were able to finally maneuver the boys face down along the passageways.

Describing the situation, Volanthen said they carried the boys “like a shopping bag that sometimes you would hold close to your chest if the passage was narrow and deep.” He further elaborated, “If the passage was low and wide you would hold them out to the side and essentially manoeuvre them around any obstacles that were in the way.”

In the meantime, rescuers delivered essentials to the boys, including food, medicines, and water. However, during the operation, Thai diver PO Saman died while helping transfer the oxygen tanks. Saman faced issues as he was returning and lost consciousness in the passageways because of not having enough air.

Belgian diver Ben Reymenants, who participated in the Thai cave rescue operation, spoke to the news about the coach’s efforts. Reymenants stated, “Luckily the coach [Ekkapol Chantawong] had the sanity of mind to keep them all together, huddled together to conserve their energy, that basically saved them.”

Thai Navy Seals leader Rear Adm Arpakorn Yuukongkaew later spoke about the extraordinary rescue operation. He said, “We didn’t think the mission would be this successful,” claiming they had “a little bit of hope” that the boys were still alive. Yuukongkaew added, “In the end that tiny bit of hope became reality” for pulling off the nearly impossible feat.

The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave and Thai Cave Rescue are currently streaming on Netflix. The Rescue is also available to watch on Disney+ Hotstar, while the 13 Lives movie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.