The Thai Cave Rescue has come to a happy end. All the 12 boys are back and safe including their 25 year old coach. While we are very much elated at the outcome of the rescue mission, what better time could there be to talk about the heroes of this high risk mission!

Divers:

Saman Kunan

Saman Kunan is a former Thai Navy diver who lost his life during the rescue mission. He lost consciousness on his way back from giving the group oxygen tanks. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn announced that Saman will get a royally sponsored funeral.

Richard Harris

Richard Harris is the anesthetist from Australia who is also an expert cave diver. He was the first to assess the condition of the trapped boys and the coach and decided the order in which each boy must be rescued. The 53 year old has been dubbed as ‘Hero Harry’ by many and is considered to be the crucial person for the success of the mission. The sad part is that Richard Harris had to end the mission on a sad note as his father passed away after the rescue mission was over.

John Volanthen and Richard Stanton

These are the divers who first identified the trapped up boys and coach and hence the first divers to reach the spot. After the boys and the coach went missing, they were called in by Thai authorities to help navigate and find the boys. Volanthen is an IT consultant while Stanton is a former firefighter.

Ivan Karadzic

Ivan Karadzic’s role in the Thai Rescue mission was crucial. He’s even recalled the first diver coming out of the cave wondering if the diver was accompanied by a ‘kid’ or a ‘casualty’. He runs a diving centre in Koh Tao. He also sent a heartfelt message after Saman was dead on the way back from the cave.

Erik Brown

This technical diving instructor has a decade of experience in diving. He runs a diving school in Egypt and and also recently revealed that in the past nine days alone he has done 9 diving missions. Out of which 63 hours were spent in the Tham Luang caves alone.

Mikko Paasi

Mikko Paasi is also a founder of a diving institute in the island of Koh Tao. He specialises ini technical diving which means he can ace through wrecks and caves. In addition to this when the boys were found on July 2, his wife presented him with a flight journey to Chiang Rai so he could join the rescue mission. It was their wedding anniversary.

Chantawong

Chantawong is the 25 year old coach who accompanied the boys. Though one might have doubts about casting him as a hero, he truly is. When the boys got trapped he helped them retain their moral strength by advising them to meditate, not move too much to save energy etc. Even one of the parents wrote a letter stating that no one is mad at him. He even rarely ate food so other kids could have them. He was identified as the weakest person in the group due to this. Hero material? Yes.

Narongsak Osatanakorn

He was the fired governor of Thailand but allowed to retain his ‘governance’ during and for the Thai Rescue mission alone. What more? He even had degrees in geology and engineering making him much more qualified for the mission. He gained international fame through his informative press conferences on the rescue mission.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s idea to help bring the kids back using a small submarine pod might have been rejected, but he was one of the very first to come up with ideas. He also suggested the use of a nylon air inflatable tube throughout the cave network that might help the trapped come to entrance safely. The billionaire tech entrepreneur proved us once again he’s the real deal.

Conclusion

Not only these heroes, there are other hundreds of unsung heroes like parents, civilians worldwide who prayed for the safe rescue of the trapped 12 boys and the coach. The mission has become a symbol of unity, humanity and universal brotherhood.