A few weeks ago nobody knew how the Thai cave rescue was going to end. Now, just hours ago in an incredibly surreal moment, the boys stood happy and healthy at a press conference, even beginning with a display of soccer tricks.
The faces of the boys show little trace of the ordeal, despite being stuck in the cave for more than two weeks, with no food and no way of contacting the outside world. “The boys are healthy again,” said one of the hospital doctors. “The hospital staff have been helping to rehabilitate the boys and though they have faced a crisis they have truly been very strong. They are all physically strong now and ready to go back to their lives.”
It took an international team of divers and experts to eventually find and rescue them, a feat described by one of the boys as a “miracle”.
Ekaphol Chantawong, the coach of the Wild Boars confirmed reports that the boys want to be ordained as Buddhist monks to honour a former Thai navy Seal who died during the rescue mission.
Chantawong also revealed that prior to being found the boys had dug tunnels of up to four metres, attempting to find their own way out, refusing to do nothing while they waited to be rescued.
A video played at the beginning of the press conference showed the boys openly weeping as they thanked the medical staff at the hospital who had helped in their recovery over the past week.
“Everyone was so worried about us,” said 14-year-old Adul Sam-on, looking visibly moved as he stood in his hospital gown in the video. “I’m speechless.”
Ekaphol, 25, said they had decided to make the trip to the Tham Luang cave complex on 23 June as a fun activity because none of them had been inside before. They cycled there after football practice and planned to spend an hour in the caves but as they reached a junction on the way out, they saw the water rising.
Contrary to earlier reports, almost all the boys can swim and they dived into the pools, testing how deep the water was to judge whether it would be possible to swim out. “Almost everyone can swim,” Ekaphol said. “Some aren’t strong swimmers, however.”
They then went deeper into the cave as it grew darker, resolving just to get some rest for the night and then swim out in the morning when the water levels went down a bit. Before they went to sleep on the first night, the coach said they all prayed together.
But with no food to keep them going, the boys grew weaker. They kept hydrated by drinking the water dripping from the cave walls. The team’s youngest member, 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, nicknamed Titan, added: “I had no strength. I tried not to think about food so I didn’t get more hungry.”
It was only after ten days when many had almost lost hope of finding them, that two British divers finally came across the boys sheltered on a shelf deep in the cave.
Adul, 14, the only member of the team who spoke English, described the “miracle moment” when he heard the two British divers emerge from the darkness and call for the boys. After ten days trapped in the cave, it was the first sign that they would be rescued. They heard the divers call out to them, asking, “How are you?” At first, they thought they must have imagined the voices but after realising the voices were real Adul replied, “fine”, confirming that they were all safe and well.
They also revealed that the eventual decision about who should leave the cave first was not based on strength, but decided by the boys themselves. It was based on who lived furthest away from the cave and therefore would have the longest cycle back home.
Most of the boys admitted they had not told their parents that they were visiting the caves after their football practice, expressing much remorse for all they had put their parents through.
Loud cheers greeted the introduction of the Thai Navy Seals involved in the rescue. Their identity has been kept under wraps and they introduced themselves by first names, even donning caps and dark sunglasses to keep themselves anonymous. The boys described the Seals as family, one even saying a Seal was “like my dad”. Several boys told the press conference they wanted to become Navy Seals when they were older, because of their experience. An amusing story was also told about one Seal giving up his clothes to warm the boys, resulting in him spending most of the time in just his underwear and a small piece of foil.
Chanin is among the many boys who now want to be both a professional football player and a Seal when they grow up. “This experience taught me to value my life,” he said. “This event has made me stronger.”
