The 2018 Tham Luang Cave Rescue

Podcast Transcript

In 2018, twelve boys and their soccer coach entered a cave in northern Thailand and were trapped when monsoon rains flooded the passage behind them.

What followed was a race against time involving thousands of rescuers, expert cave divers, engineers, soldiers, and doctors from around the world.

Against overwhelming odds, they attempted one of the most dangerous and complex rescues ever undertaken.

Amazingly, every single one of the trapped people survived.

Learn more about the Tham Luang cave rescue on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

On June 23, 2018, a Thai youth soccer team known as the ‘Wild Boars’ completed practice and decided to celebrate one of their teammates’ birthdays. Consisting of 12 boys aged 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old assistant coach, the group decided to explore a nearby cave.

Cave exploration was not a new hobby for the team; they had engaged in previous explorations. They decided to enter the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in Northern Thailand.

The cave system spans 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). It features tight passages, winding tunnels, and deep recesses. During the dry season, the cave is relatively safe. But in the rainy season, danger rises sharply.

To warn potential cave dwellers of the risks, signs are posted outside the cave warning of flooding during the rainy season. The rainy season is technically defined as July to November, but that doesn’t mean heavy rain can’t occur outside this window. During this time, water levels in the cave can reach 16 feet (5 meters) high.

The team entered the cave with their flashlights. They intended to be inside for just one hour, so they left their bikes at the cave’s entrance and began exploring. When they entered, the cave was completely dry.

As they were inside the cave, an unexpected downpour began. This caused the cave to flash flood, filling the depressions with water and blocking any potential exits.

The team didn’t realize the sudden shift in the weather until it was too late. In panic and fear, the boys were forced to move deeper into the cave, desperately trying to escape the rising water and avoid drowning.

Obviously, being stuck in a cave meant that the children did not make it home to their families that night. Concerned about their kids’ safety, the parents began making calls. Many of these calls went to the head soccer coach, Nopparat Kanthawong.

Kanthanwong, now aware of his missing team, began making his own calls. He managed to contact a team member who did not enter the cave with the group. This was fortunate, as he was able to inform Kanthanwong that the others had entered the cave,

Kanthanwong went to the caves as quickly as possible and noticed the boys’ bikes at the entrance and the concerning amount of water flooding into the cave.

With this discovery, the authorities were notified, and rescuers arrived at the cave entrance. The truth that awaited the rescuers was frightening. Thirteen people were trapped inside the caves; they had no clue where inside the system they were, and the team could not get out on their own.

The team was found marooned on a rocky shelf about four kilometers away from the cave entrance. There was no light, no food, and no sense of time.

Despite the horrible situation, the team worked together to make the situation more bearable. They had dug about 5 meters into the cave wall to give themselves more space to huddle together and keep warm.

To help pass the time, the Assistant Coach, Ake, a former Buddhist monk, taught the boys meditation. This had the unintended benefit of reducing the amount of oxygen the team used. The meditation also kept them still, helping them conserve their strength.

Despite having no food, the team did have water from the cave walls. As moisture dripped from the sides of the caves, the team had enough water to survive.

Despite the horrible situation, the team had just the right circumstances to keep them alive for a while.

While the team was stranded, the authorities quickly jumped into action. The National Police, Thai Navy Seals, volunteers, and other rescue teams were brought in.

Despite mobilizing quickly, authorities faced uncertainty; they didn’t know where the boys were or if they were alive.

This issue was compounded by the difficulty of actually searching the cave. Tham Luang wasn’t exactly the easiest cave to navigate, and the professional Navy Seals they brought in had little to no experience in cave diving. At the same time, the rain was still falling, blocking various access points in the cave.

The first solution proposed was to pump the water out of the cave. This required several types of equipment, but the on-site engineers lacked specialized expertise in cave-flood management, leading to operational challenges.

The engineers used tools such as shovels, small pumps, and pipes. However, due to the cave’s massive volume of water, most equipment proved inadequate for effective removal.

Attempts to locate the boys also included drilling holes into the mountain to access the cave chambers and deploying drones capable of detecting heat to pinpoint their location.

While the engineers attempted to locate the boys, authorities decided to ask the boy who had not entered the cave questions about his teammates. The goal was to gain more insight into where they could have gone to help narrow down the search.

The boy mentioned that it was common for the team to go to an area of the cave dubbed Pattaya Beach, helping give the authorities direction.

While the boys were missing, the community came together in their hopes of bringing the children home. Friends, family, and acquaintances gathered at the cave’s mouth to pray, sing songs, and post messages about the kids. The village around them donated money and food to the families of the missing kids.

The community support soon spread. Aid from across Thailand came in, with volunteers from all corners of the country flying in to help bring the boys home.

This also caught the attention of international news outlets. By June 28, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries had either been invited or volunteered to help with the search and rescue.

Specialists from the countries were quickly brought in to search the cave systems. The situation for the rescue divers was terrible, with rising water levels, strong currents, and areas with no visibility. These conditions forced the divers to turn back during their search.

By July 1, a week after the team had entered the cave, some progress had been made. The divers reached an area they dubbed “chamber three,” roughly 800 meters inside the cave.

The chamber’s location served as a base for the divers, allowing them to store oxygen tanks and medical supplies. This meant divers could easily replenish their supplies without leaving the cave whenever they ran out of oxygen.

It took an additional 2 days, but a pair of British divers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, located the boys. The duo had been searching around Pattaya Beach, but found the area flooded. When they continued further through the water, they found an air pocket.

When at the air pocket, the duo surfaced, took a breath, and shouted. They actually smelled the children before seeing them. Knowing the kids were nearby, the duo pointed a flashlight into the distance and spotted them. All thirteen members of the team were there and alive.

After spending some time talking to the boys, the duo had to head back to the base, but promised to return with food. The entire interaction was captured on camera, showing the world that the children had survived.

Everyone was thrilled to see the kids alive, but there was still a problem. How were they going to get the kids out of the cave?

Three main options were given to rescue the team.

The first was to train the boys how to dive. This was a very risky option as many of the boys in the cave were unable to swim, and even if they did know how, swimming through these circumstances was difficult for professional divers with years of training.

The second option was to continue trying to pump the water outside of the cave. While this option was slightly less risky than teaching the boys how to dive, there was a risk that the pumping mechanisms could fail or that too much water would enter the cave. Additionally, this plan would keep the boys in the cave for at least 4 more months.

Another option considered was to drill into the cave or find an alternative route. This had no guarantee of working.

To ease the wait as they figured out the best rescue option, Navy SEALs and a medic stayed with the boys. They were given a special liquid food to help raise their vitamin levels without making the children sick.

However, the situation was getting dire. Oxygen levels inside the cave were slowly dropping, and monsoon season rains were about to start the next week. The rescuers were running out of time.

Ultimately, the rescue team devised a risky plan to save the boys. It was decided that the experienced cave divers would take the children out one by one.

Each boy would be put in a wetsuit and a diving mask, and then given a sedative. The decision to give the children sedatives, making them unconscious while being rescued, was controversial but was deemed necessary.

Once unconscious, the kids could not panic during their rescue. If they were to panic, the children would endanger both themselves and the rescue team, so this was a necessary risk.

The sedatives administered to the boys lasted about ninety minutes, but rescuers had to re-administer the drug during the swim because the journey to exit each boy took three hours. This ensured their unconsciousness throughout the evacuation.

To keep the route as efficient as possible, the children were then tethered to the diver. This was an important step because of the poor visibility inside the cave.

The boys decided on the order in which they would be rescued, and the operation lasted three days. It so efficient that, towards the end, the boys were delivered every 45 minutes due to a hand-off system.

The boys were passed through on a pulley system. Roughly 100 divers were involved, but it worked. After 18 grueling days, the boys were out of the cave by Tuesday, July 10.

Despite the risks, time constraints, and odds, all the boys made it. The moment the last boy was pulled out of the cave, the pump stopped working.

However, the rescue mission was not without loss. One Navy SEAL diver named Saman Gunan died during the rescue. While on a run to deliver oxygen to the boys on July 6, he ran out of oxygen himself.

Once outside of the cave, the survivors were immediately hospitalized. They were in the hospital for a week as they were monitored for diseases and overall health. Each kid lost a bit of weight, but overall, they were in good condition.

After the boys were rescued, the cave and the forest park nearby were closed to the public. The Thai government made plans to turn the cave into a museum to showcase the rescue efforts.

The efforts have been memorialized in different ways. Locals painted a mural to honor those involved in the rescue, and a bronze statue was made for the Navy SEAL who died. The cave and park eventually reopened, and the museum plan was realized, though access to specific caverns was limited.

The Tham Luang cave rescue was not just a story of survival. It was a story of discipline, courage, expertise, and cooperation under almost impossible conditions. Thirteen people were trapped in darkness, but thousands of others refused to accept that they were beyond reach.

It remains one of the great rescue stories of modern history, and a reminder that human beings are often at their best when the situation appears to be at its worst.