The dramatic rescue of 12 footballers and their coach in Thailand had garnered worldwide attention as Thai Navy SEALs and a team of foreign cave-diving experts were called in for the mission.
Source: The Nation
Luckily, all of them were rescued but one Navy SEAL tragically died after running out of oxygen. The victims were then sent to a hospital for treatment followed by a blood test to see if they were infected with leptospirosis.
On 18 July, the high-spirited team put on their Wild Boars t-shirts and left the hospital for the first time to speak to the media. They recounted their harrowing experience of being trapped underground for 10 days without food.
Source: The New Daily
One of the boys named Adul Sam-on, who was the only person who could speak English on the team said it was a “miracle moment” throughout the entire ordeal when the two British divers found them.
“When they came out of the water, I was surprised. I didn’t know what to say to them. I said ‘Hello’, or something like that. When they said ‘hello’ to me, I said ‘hello’ back.
“It was magical. I had to think a lot before I could answer their questions. Everybody was happy, it was the most hopeful moment in 10 days,” the 14-year-old boy said.
The team also revealed that the original plan was to explore the Tham Luang cave for about an hour after they were done with football practice. Contrary to many reports, almost all of the boys knew how to swim and some were better swimmers than others.
Source: The New Daily
The coach, Ekkapol Chantawong said that the boys even dived into the pool to test the water’s depths and to determine whether they could swim out later on. As the sun set, the cave got dark real quick and it was too late for them to leave as they couldn’t see the path.
A sudden downpour had also flooded the entrance of the tunnel, thus trapping all 13 of them inside. So, the coach led the boys deeper into the cave to look for a place to rest with hopes that the water level would drop in the morning.
The 25-year-old coach said,
“We took turns digging at the cave walls. We didn’t want to wait around until authorities found us.”
Another boy then said, “We used stones to dig in the cave. We dug three to four metres.”
Sadly, their efforts did not help as that didn’t lead them anywhere. To make things worse, the team didn’t bring along any food or water as they thought it was going to be a short exploration.
Therefore, they had to rely on water dripping from stalactites.
Source: Study
A boy named Tee said,
“We only drank water. On the first day, we were okay, but after two days we started feeling tired.”
The youngest among the Wild Boars was Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, who goes by the nickname of Titan. Fuiyoohhh…
He was the first to start feeling dizzy and almost fainted. Trying not to think about food was almost impossible at that time.
“We tried not to think of food, like fried rice, because it would make us hungrier,” Titan said.
Another kid named Panumas Saengdee thought about ‘congee’, a Thai porridge-like dish in his sleep.
When it was time to choose who should leave the cave first with the rescuers, the boys decided among themselves that the one who lives furthest away should go first as he would have to cycle the longest to get home.
“The ones whose homes are the furthest went first, so they could tell everyone that the boys were fine,” the coach said.
Source: The New Daily
Needless to say, all of them missed their parents and one plucky boy said, “I was afraid that I would get scolded by my mother.”
In fact, most of the boys acknowledged that they didn’t inform their parents about the cave exploration trip and that they truly regretted their actions.
The boys are now all healthy and ready to go on with their lives. Some of them aspire to become Navy SEALs when they grow up while some dream of becoming professional footballers.
Did you know that this nerve-wracking rescue operation will also be turned into a movie? Check out the full story below!
Also read: Hollywood Producers Already in Thailand to Turn Cave Rescue Mission Into a Movie
