Australian diver who guided trapped Thai soccer team through flooded cave reveals details of rescue

An Australian diver who helped rescue a trapped Thai soccer team from a flooded cave has revealed how the extremely difficult mission unfolded.

Retired vet and cave-diving expert, Craig Challen, alongside Adelaide anaesthetist Richard Harris, played a key role in freeing the Wild Boars over three days last week.

Mr Challen, 53, told how the pair had advised the 12 boys and their coach to decide in what order each individual would be pulled to safety, the Herald Sun reported.

 

Craig Challen (right) and fellow Australian Doctor Richard Harris (left) worked alongside a team of experienced cave divers from around the world for days to free the Thai soccer group, who were stuck inside the cave for a total of two weeks

Mr Challen said of the rescue mission: 'It wasn't dangerous for us but I can't emphasise enough how dangerous it was for the kids' 

Mr Challen said of the rescue mission: ‘It wasn’t dangerous for us but I can’t emphasise enough how dangerous it was for the kids’ 

The rescued boys are now recovering in hospital (pictured) following the rescue mission

The rescued boys are now recovering in hospital (pictured) following the rescue mission

Mr Challen and Dr Harris worked alongside a team of experienced cave divers from around the world to free the group, who were trapped inside the cave for two weeks.

The Australian duo arrived in Tham Luang on July 5, three days after the Wild Boars team were first spotted inside the cave by British divers. 

They had little time to react to the situation with monsoonal rains bearing down. 

The mission was deemed almost impossible as the boys had to be pulled through a 38cm gap – the narrowest part of the journey out of the cave.

The boys had to be sedated amid fears they could have killed themselves and their assigned diver. 

An oxygen mask and cylinder then had to be attached to each boy by a diver so they could be pulled away from the ledge they had been found perched on.

‘There was short dive until a dry section and then they had to be de-kitted, helped about 200m over rocks and sand hills and stuff and then (kitted back up) and put into the water again,’ Mr Challen said.  

He said that was the part of the treacherous operation he was in charge of, along with two others, and he ‘stayed there until the last boy each day’. 

Mr Challen admitted that when he first arrived in Thailand he thought the mission would be a recovery rather than a rescue.

Retired vet and cave-diving expert Craig Challen (left) who helped to rescue the Wild Boars soccer team from the depths of a cave in Thailand has spoken publicly about the mission for the first time, revealing his grave fears for the boys' lives

Retired vet and cave-diving expert Craig Challen (left) who helped to rescue the Wild Boars soccer team from the depths of a cave in Thailand has spoken publicly about the mission for the first time, revealing his grave fears for the boys’ lives

Mr Challen and Dr Harris had arrived in Tham Luang three days after the Wild Boars team were first spotted by British divers

Mr Challen and Dr Harris had arrived in Tham Luang three days after the Wild Boars team were first spotted by British divers

Mr Challen (right with Dr Harris) was responsible for assisting the boys through the cave system from the ledge they were discovered on

Mr Challen (right with Dr Harris) was responsible for assisting the boys through the cave system from the ledge they were discovered on

‘It wasn’t dangerous for us but I can’t emphasise enough how dangerous it was for the kids,’ he said.

‘It was absolutely life and death. We didn’t expect to be getting 13 people out of there alive.’ 

At one point it looked as though the soccer team and their coach would have to remain inside the cave for several months until the monsoon rains subsided.

Mr Challen said he did not believe they would have survived underground for that period of time.  

He said the British divers deserved credit for piecing together the extraction plan. 

Speaking in Adelaide on Saturday, Dr Harris (left, with Mr Challen) said he was happy to be home with friends and family after what was a 'pretty amazing experience for us all last week being involved with this rescue'

Speaking in Adelaide on Saturday, Dr Harris (left, with Mr Challen) said he was happy to be home with friends and family after what was a ‘pretty amazing experience for us all last week being involved with this rescue’

Dr Harris said on Saturday he was happy to be home with friends and family after what was a ‘pretty amazing experience for us all last week being involved with this rescue’. 

‘Some moments of significant fear I have to say and then a great result and some really joyous moments to finish making some true friends and colleagues,’ he said.

Dr Harris, 53, also described the mission’s end as ‘bittersweet’, however, as he received news of his father’s passing upon reemerging from the cave.

‘Sadly my father died at the end of the rescue… (and) I’ve been very grateful for everyone respecting my privacy while I’m dealing with that with my family.

‘I’m hoping to get back to work and go through the funeral and celebrate dad’s life and get everything back to normal as quickly as possible. Thank you all very much.’   

A Facebook post from Adelaide anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris regarding the rescue mission

A Facebook post from Adelaide anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris regarding the rescue mission

The Australian doctor insisted that his role was but a small part of the collective effort to free the boys (pictured), and that that 'all the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people I have mentioned' deserve equal praise

The Australian doctor insisted that his role was but a small part of the collective effort to free the boys (pictured), and that that ‘all the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people I have mentioned’ deserve equal praise

On his flight back home to Australia on Friday night, Dr Harris took a moment ‘to really stop and reflect on the extraordinary events of the past 8 days’, writing a long and emotional Facebook post that paid tribute to all involved in the rescue.

He started by singing the praises of ‘local divers like Ben Reymenants and the awesome foursome from Britain (John Volanthen, Rick Stanton, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell)’, who first laid the rope that would be used in subsequent dives.

‘The efforts and skill of these guys in blazing this trail cannot be underestimated,’ Dr Harris declared.

‘Meanwhile on the ground, the Thais and international community sent in swarms of men and women… (and) huge teams of workers filling the cave with… equipment to try and lower the water and sustain the diving operations,’ he continued.

All 12 boys and their soccer coach were freed from the cave complex in Chiang Rai after an arduous mission that involved the assistance of 20 Australians

All 12 boys and their soccer coach were freed from the cave complex in Chiang Rai after an arduous mission that involved the assistance of 20 Australians

 'I have never seen anything like it,' Dr Harris wrote on Facebook, 'with man battling to control the natural forces of the monsoon waters'

 ‘I have never seen anything like it,’ Dr Harris wrote on Facebook, ‘with man battling to control the natural forces of the monsoon waters’

‘I have never seen anything like it with man battling to control the natural forces of the monsoon waters… And all this time 4 brave Navy Seals sat with the Wild Boars knowing they were in as much danger as the kids.’

The post has received more than 50,000 comments and likes, with one Thai person telling Dr Harris his father ‘was the proudest father in the world on his last day’. 

Many are calling on Dr Harris and Mr Challen to be presented with Australia’s highest civilian bravery award, the Cross of Valour, with a change.org petition approaching 40,000 signatures.            



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