The plight of 12 boys and their football coach, who were rescued on July 10 in batches after their 17-day ordeal deep inside a remote flooded cave in Thailand, has gripped the world like no other story in recent times.
Back in 2010, the rescue of 33 Chilean miners stranded 700m below ground captured international headlines. The men had been virtually given up for dead when a probe sent down through a narrow borehole struck lucky, 17 days later. Even after the men were located and supplies were sent to them, it took weeks before rescuers were finally able to bring the miners to the surface.
In all, their ordeal lasted nearly 70 days.
These were hardy grown men who knew the risks involved when they signed up for their dangerous job.
In the latest case, the 12 boys aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old former monk-turned-football coach, had gone exploring almost 4km inside the Tham Luang cave complex, near Thailand-Myanmar border, on June 23, unaware of the lurking dangers.
Before they could come out, rainwater flooded the cave trapping them inside.
The boys and their coach survived in total darkness for nine days, rationing what little snacks they were carrying, drinking water flowing down the cave walls and practising meditation and singing songs to overcome loneliness and panic.
On July 2 the 13 were discovered by two British volunteer cave divers. The video footage of their discovery went viral.
Since then, thanks to round-the-clock media coverage, the world watched with bated breath as an unprecedented international effort was mounted by the Thai authorities - involving world’s best cave rescue experts and Thai Navy Seals - to bring the stranded 13 out of the cave. Official help came from Britain, the United States, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, China and Australia, a Thai government document revealed.
There were volunteers from Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Ukraine and Finland.
Getting the 13 out — which involved teaching boys as young as 11 who were not strong swimmers to dive through narrow, submerged passages — proved a monumental challenge. The rescue operation claimed the life of a former Thai Navy Seal, underscoring the dangers involved.
Then finally, on July 10 Thais - and the rest of the world - who had followed every twist and turn of the three-day long hair-raising rescue effort - reacted with relief, gratitude and exhilaration after the last group of the “Wild Boars” soccer team was rescued.
The story of the 12 boys and their coach struck a chord with ordinary folks around the world.
And for the local and international media, which was camped near the cave complex in strength throughout the rescue operation, this was a rare feel-good story to tell their audience.
The fate of the boys has even resonated as far as Russia, where soccer’s World Cup is reaching its final stages.
Araya Hargate, one of Thailand’s top actresses, posted a cartoon of the boys surrounded by rescuers on her Instagram page, which has 7.9mn followers. “After all...the world is not such a bad place humanityfaithrestored #thailandcaverescue,” the actress wrote.
Indeed, the saga of the Lucky 13 brought out the best in humanity.
