Tag Archives: Cave rescue

‘Stateless’ Thai cave boys and coach granted citizenship

FILE PHOTO: Rescue workers at the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand on, July 10, 2018, the day 12 boys were rescued after nine days trapped in the caves. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Three boys from a soccer team who were rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand last month were granted Thai citizenship on Wednesday, authorities said.

Their 25-year-old coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, also gained citizenship.

Ekapol and 12 boys had gone to explore the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai province on June 23, when a rainy-season downpour flooded the cave system and trapped them underground.

They survived for nine days on water dripping from rocks before they were discovered. An international effort to rescue them ended on July 10 when they all were brought out safely.

Three of the boys and Ekapol were considered stateless, even though they were born in Thailand, until local authorities checked their qualifications, including birth certificates, and approved their requests for Thai citizenship.

The four were also given Thai national identification cards on Wednesday.

“They have all the qualifications,” said Somsak Kanakam, chief officer of Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai. “All children born in Thailand must have Thai birth certificates in order to qualify for Thai citizenship.”

Citizenship requests for some twenty other people, most of them children, were also approved, Somsak added.

Many stateless people in Thailand come from areas where national borders have changed, leaving their nationality in question. Some belong to “hill tribes” living in remote areas with limited access to information about nationality procedures, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The cave ordeal highlighted the plight of people from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar living in Thailand who are denied some rights and opportunities because they are not citizens.

More than 486,000 people are registered as stateless, according to official data. Of that number 146,269 are younger than 18 years old.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat, editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Larry King)

Thailand to mark boy soccer team’s dramatic cave rescue with museum

A "Restricted Area" sign is seen in front of the Tham Luang cave complex, after the rescue mission for the 12 boys of the "Wild Boars" soccer team and their coach, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand July 14, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai construction workers on Thursday began building a museum to commemorate the dramatic cave rescue of a boys’ soccer team in the northern province of Chiang Rai and the death of one of the divers.

The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on June 23 while exploring the cave complex and were rescued more than two weeks later during a perilous three-day mission by foreign and Thai divers that gripped audiences around the world.

People react as the 12 soccer players and their coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for their news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

People react as the 12 soccer players and their coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for their news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

Work on the museum began after a traditional Buddhist ceremony on Wednesday at the Tham Luang cave, in which authorities asked for the blessing of local spirits.

The museum, which is expected to take about five months and 10 million baht ($300,000) to build, is being funded by a Thai artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, a Chiang Rai native.

“This place will be very beneficial for our country, as it will commemorate the multinational cooperation and the hero who sacrificed his life. Tourists from around the world will visit this place,” Chalermchai said.

Thai diver Samarn Kunan died after he lost consciousness during a mission to place oxygen tanks deep inside the cave.

A four-meter statue of Samarn, currently being sculpted, will be placed in front of the museum.

The museum will also house a 13-metre-long painting, which features rescuers, including the British divers who first found the boys.

Eleven of the boys have been spending time as Buddhist novices to honor Samarn. On Saturday, they will leave the temple to return to normal life.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Make the most of your lives, rescued Thai cave boys told

The Thai Navy pose for photo as they depart from Chiang Rai International Airport after finishing the rescue mission for 12 soccer players and their coach in Chiang Rai, Thailand July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

By Panarat Thepgumpanat and John Geddie

BANGKOK/CHIANG RAI (Reuters) – The head of a Thai navy SEAL diving team that helped lead 12 boys and their soccer coach through a flooded cave complex to safety urged the boys on Thursday to “make the most” of their lives and be a force for good.

The first footage of the boys, aged 11 to 16, convalescing in hospital in the northern city of Chiang Rai emerged on Wednesday, with some, wearing face masks and hospital gowns, giving peace signs to the camera.

Health officials said the boys would spend at least a week in hospital and around 30 days recovering at home following more than two weeks trapped inside the flooded Tham Luang cave complex.

Thirteen foreign divers and five Thai Navy SEALs guided boys and their coach out in a complicated three-day operation that ended on Tuesday.

“Make the most of your lives. Be good people, be a force for good for your country,” Rear Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, commander of Thailand’s navy SEALS unit, said in a message to the boys before boarding a flight from Chiang Rai.

“Hooyah!” Apakorn shouted before flying out, using a morale-building navy term.

Footage released by the SEALs showed parts of the rescue operation that captivated the world.

The boys were held close to the divers and remained motionless for parts of the journey where they had to dive. They were then carried on stretchers through dry parts to the cave’s entrance.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Wednesday the operation was nothing short of a miracle.

Families of the 12 boys have been allowed to visit them.

A statement from Thailand’s public health ministry on Thursday said two boys from the first group rescued on Sunday who were diagnosed with a lung infection were recovering well. Three boys from the last group saved have ear infections.

The boys’ families can visit them wearing protective gowns and masks, it added.

At U-Tapao civil-military airport in Rayong province, near where the Royal Thai Navy operates out of Sattahip Naval Base, Thai navy SEALs and some foreign military personnel were given a hero’s’ welcome when they touched down on Thursday.

Those involved in the rescue were give large garlands made from marigolds as navy officers and proud civilians stood by. Some well-wishers at the air base prepared red roses.

“All Thais are proud of you … You have made a name for the SEALs unit,” a senior navy official told those gathered.

The Tham Luang cave complex will remain closed to the public for at least six months, said Chongklai Worapongsathorn, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Aukkarapon Niyomat and Amy Sawitta Lefevre in BANGKOK, John Geddie and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in CHIANG RAI; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Thai boys give a wave to the world in first video since their rescue

A screen grab shows boys rescued from the Thai cave wearing mask and resting in a hospital in Chiang Rai, Thailand from a July 11, 2018 handout video. Government Public Relations Department (PRD) and Government Spokesman Bureau/Handout via REUTERS TV

By Panu Wongcha-um and Patpicha Tanakasempipat

CHIANG RAI, Thailand (Reuters) – The first video of the Thai boys rescued from a flooded cave after 17 days was released on Wednesday, showing them smiling and waving from their hospital beds, looking thin but fine after an ordeal that has gripped the world.

The last group of the 12-member “Wild Boars” soccer team and their coach was brought out of the Tham Luang cave, near the border with Myanmar, on Tuesday night, safely ending a dangerous rescue and evoking international relief and joy.

Rescue workers and soldiers take out machine after 12 soccer players and their coach were rescued in Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya

Rescue workers and soldiers take out machine after 12 soccer players and their coach were rescued in Tham Luang cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

Rescue mission chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told a news conference the boys were just being children when they got lost and no one was to blame.

“We don’t see the children as at fault or as heroes. They are children being children, it was an accident,” Narongsak said.

A video of the boys in hospital was shown at the news conference. Some of them, wearing surgical masks, lay on their beds. Some sat and made the “peace sign” gesture for the camera.

None of the boys was heard speaking in the clips shown at the news conference.

The 12 boys and their soccer coach lost an average of 2 kg (4.4 lb) during their ordeal but were generally in good condition and showed no signs of stress, a senior health official said earlier.

After being brought out of the cave, one by one beginning on Sunday, they were taken by helicopter to hospital in the town of Chiang Rai, about 70 km (45 miles) away, to stay in quarantine.

The boys would have to stay in hospital for up to 10 days, hospital director Chaiwetch Thanapaisal told the news conference. They would then need to recuperate at home for 30 days, he said.

Parents of the first eight boys freed have been able to visit them but had to wear protective suits and stand 2 meters (7 feet) away as a precaution. Authorities are worried about the possibility of infections picked up in the cave.

Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong, inspector general of the public health ministry, and Chaiwetch Thanapaisal, director of the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, attend a news conference in Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong, inspector general of the public health ministry, and Chaiwetch Thanapaisal, director of the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, attend a news conference in Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, a health department inspector, earlier told reporters one from the last group rescued on Tuesday had a lung infection and they were all given vaccinations for rabies and tetanus.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha asked that the boys be given time to recover.

“The important thing is … personal space,” Prayuth told reporters. “The best way is not to bother them and let them study.”

The group ventured into the vast cave complex in the northern province of Chiang Rai after soccer practice on June 23 and were trapped when a rainy season downpour flooded tunnels.

They were lost for nine days before British rescue divers discovered them on July 2, sitting on a ledge in a half-flooded chamber.

Getting them out – which involved teaching boys as young as 11 who were not strong swimmers to dive through narrow, submerged passages – proved a monumental challenge.

A former member of Thailand’s navy SEAL unit died during a mission in the cave on Friday.

(For a graphic on the Thai cave rescue click https://tmsnrt.rs/2KR2zRj)

‘NOT HEROES’

Narongsak, giving details of the rescue, said falling oxygen levels inside the cave complex had added a sense of urgency.

The commander of the navy SEAL unit that oversaw the rescue, Rear Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, hailed the international effort.

“We are not heroes. This mission was successful because of cooperation from everyone,” he said. “For SEALs, this is what we were trained for. The navy has a motto: ‘We don’t abandon the people’.

Official help came from Britain, the United States, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, China and Australia, a government document showed. There were volunteers from Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Ukraine and Finland.

The rescue has dominated front-page headlines in Thailand and beyond for days.

“Hooyah! Mission accomplished,” read one headline, echoing the rallying cry of the SEAL unit.

The hashtag #Hooyah was hugely popular on social media with people showing their support for the hundreds of rescuers, including divers from around the world, who helped to get the boys out.

‘SO STRONG’

The fate of the boys has even resonated as far as Russia, where soccer’s World Cup is reaching its final stages. Players from France and England welcomed news of the rescue and sent their best wishes to the “Wild Boars” on Twitter.

“This victory goes to the heroes of the day, well done boys, you are so strong,” French midfielder Paul Pogba tweeted after his team beat Belgium 1-0 on Tuesday to reach the final.

Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker, whose team faces Croatia in the second semi-final later on Wednesday, said he wanted to send shirts to the boys.

“Amazing news that all of the Thai kids are out of the cave safely!” Walker tweeted.

A Google search on Tuesday for the words “Thai cave rescue” revealed 359 million results.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um, Patpicha Tanakasempipat, James Pomfret and John Geddie in CHIANG RAI; Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng in BANGKOK, and Colin Packham in SYDNEY; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and John Geddie; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)