36 hours after Thai cave rescue: Movies, museums and cheer!
Much has happened in the 36 hours since the 13 boys trapped inside a Thai cave were safely rescued. Authorities have released footage of the kids in hospital, wearing masks. Most seem calm. Some flash victory signs. Thai Navy SEALS also released video of the moment when they were stretchered out of the cave. A movie has also been announced on the rescue mission!
On leisure trip, boys got caught amid floodwaters
On June 23, the 25-year-old coach took the 12 boys, aged 11-16, to the Tham Luang cave, but got trapped by rising floodwaters. Rescue operations started the next day. However, amid heavy rains, water rose faster than it could be pumped out, hindering the personnel. Soon, the Thai navy was joined by rescuers from the US, Britain, China, and volunteers the world all over.
It took nine days to find them
Rescuers found the boys only after rains subsided on July 1, allowing them access to a hitherto-blocked chamber. Bringing relief to millions watching, the boys stood and talked to their rescuers, albeit briefly and weakly. But then there was an unexpected problem: how to get the boys out. They couldn't dive, walk or be lifted out, and water couldn't be pumped out from the flooded cave either.
Rescue began five days later, continued for three
The rescue mission began five days after they were found. They made the boys wear full-face scuba masks and attached them to divers as they passed deep and narrow underwater stretches. On dry ground, they were transferred to stretchers, wrapped in blankets, or carried by rope. They hinted the kids had been sedated for the journey. It took three days to save them all.
Several close escapes for the personnel
The mission came very close to disaster. A former Navy SEAL diver ran out of oxygen and died. Hours after the kids were brought out, the main pump failed and water levels started increasing rapidly. Thankfully, 100 workers still inside the cave were out within the next hour. The whole operation involved 900 cops, 10 helicopters, 700 air canisters and thousands of rescue workers.
Questions answered: How did the boys survive?
The days inside weren't easy for the boys. They ate food they had collected before going in. The coach reportedly skipped his share. They drank water dripping from the walls. To keep themselves warm, they dug 5m deeper. The coach taught them meditation to keep them calm. They handled total darkness, with no awareness of time or the rescue mission, for nine days.
'No one's fault, they are tough kids': Rescuers react
Addressing criticism directed towards the coach for leading the boys into the cave, Rescue mission chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said there was no one to blame. Australian Dr Richard Harris, whose father died shortly after the mission ended, called them "the toughest blokes and kids I've ever had the privilege to meet." The boys have now been quarantined for a week and are being treated.
A museum and a movie in the works
Pure Flix Entertainment has since announced plans for a movie on the rescue mission. "We realized that this would make an incredibly inspiring movie," said co-founder Michael Scott. The cave, meanwhile, will be turned into a museum "to show how the operation unfolded," said rescue mission chief Narongsak Osottanakorn. "An interactive database will be set up."
