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TWO BRITISH DIVERS who helped rescue a Thai youth football team from a flooded cave had earlier saved four adults also stranded in the complex, according to a new report on the mission that gripped the world.
The 12 boys and their coach from the Wild Boars club were trapped by rising waters as they explored the zig-zagging passages of the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand on June 23.
Officials leading the rescue effort called on the expertise of the world’s small caving community, who formed a diving dream team led by Thai Navy SEALs.
On the ninth-day of a nail-biting rescue, British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen found the youth group dishevelled and thin on a muddy bank, where they had survived on rainwater dripping from rocks.
They were pulled out a week later in a three-day extraction, during which the boys were sedated and carried to the cave entrance.
But days earlier, it emerged, the Britons unexpectedly found four Thais who, unbeknown to rescuers, had themselves become trapped by flood water while trying to find the children.
Droves of well-meaning volunteers and local residents had poured into the area near the border with Laos and Myanmar to try to help.
Speaking this week at a “Hidden Earth” cave-community event in the UK, Stanton said he and Volanthen accidentally encountered the quartet of Thai water company workers on June 28.
They had been trapped for around 24 hours and their situation was desperate, according to the caving news website Darkness Below in an article summarising Stanton’s presentation.
Muddy water was “churning, swirling and eddying around them”, it said, and the water level was rising.
But Stanton and Volanthen had only their personal breathing equipment with them. They solved the problem through a staggered approach.
First the two Britons dived back through the flooded passageway to reach the next level of dry ground en route to the cave entrance.
Then one of took off his gear. The other one swam back to the Thais with the breathing equipment, to bring them out one at a time.
This exposed the waiting diver to possible drowning had the area flooded suddenly. But despite a brief technical glitch with the gear, all made it out safely, the article said.
The details were not released at the time to the hordes of media that had descended on the site.
But the tricky scenario foreshadowed concerns about the later rescue of the boys, who were not experienced divers, prompting fears they could panic.
“It’s one of the most remarkable aspects of this whole event that such an amazing thing was a mere sideshow that never even made the press,” Les Williams, chairman of the British Caving Association, was quoted as saying about the rescue of the four adults.
Details of the incident are still captivating the public, prompting books and film treatments in a scramble to cash in on the saga.
Interest has been further fuelled by a lawsuit against tech billionaire Elon Musk brought by a different British caver who lives in Thailand.
Musk has called the caver, who was integral to the rescue because of his knowledge of Tham Luang, a “pedo” on his Twitter account. He gave no evidence to support the allegation.
The billionaire’s offer to help with the rescue had been rebuffed as impractical by authorities as well as by expert divers, including the caver in question.
© Agence France-Presse
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Well done to all involved in getting this vote over the line. Ireland took the lead on calling out the wrongdoings of apartheid South Africa, and is now doing the same with apartheid Israel.
@The Risen: just a shame we can’t take the lead in getting justice for victims of the crimes of the catholic church
@Barry Somers: your timing is dreadful.
@Barry Somers: zzzzzz
This is definitely a positive motion by our nation to send a signal of solidarity to the people of Palestine. Hopefully more nations will follow. Well done to everyone who had a hand in this historic vote. Free Palestine
@Seamus Quaide: Ireland’s vote won’t make a blind bit of difference but if it sends some people to bed tonight feeling good about themselves then I suppose it will have served it’s purpose. Virtue signalling at it’s self serving worst.
For the record I think Israel’s behaviour is despicable and self defeating as ordinary Americans are beginning to turn against them & America is the only place that counts in this.
@Justin Gillespie: well aren’t you a bundle of laughs? Of course it makes a difference. The very least it will do is make the Palestinian people feel even a tiny bit of support from the rest of the world. I have seen multiple online posts from Palestinians today saying that they appreciate this initiative from Ireland.
Fantastic news.. well done all those who had the courage to stand up to the Israeli apologists and lobbyists. This is hugely important for the oppressed people of Palestine #BDS
Stop imports of products produced outside of 1967 borders too
@Niall Donnelly: Personally, I’m in favour of stopping any Israeli imports. When North Korea or Iran get sanctioned, those sanctions aren’t limited only to the pockets of the country where the nuclear arms are being produced.
The entire leadership of that country and, by virtue of the fact Netanyahu has been in power so long, you have to imagine a large part Israel’s population, are complicit in this.
@Derek Murphy: how’s that device you are posting from going for you?
Good is it?
Cause odds are it has a components made in Israel in it, either hardware (most likely) or software.
@Barry Somers: yawn
@Barry Somers: Haha what on is your point?
That sanctions should not ever be enforced due to some economic inconvenience?
How did the US economy ever survive without exports from Cuba?
How did Ireland fare when they boycotted apartheid South Africa?
I am well aware that global free trade is usually net beneficial for all. But usually its the person who’s been kicked out of the party entirely that suffers most instead of the group still inside.
@Barry Somers: no, these days phone components are made in china
@Derek Murphy: “what on earth* is your point”
Seems the Israeli grammar checker software on my phone didn’t work so well there. Perhaps we should boycott after all.
@Barry Somers: yeah Barry, maybe we should just do nothing or have no opinions just in case some part of our phones are made in Israel.
@Barry Somers: Oh and more thing:
Even if Israel was this hub of technical innovation like you claim it is, the companies involved would simply move and set up shop elsewhere: thus taking precious tax Shekels out of the IDF’s pocket.
Not before time the government acted, what is happening in Palestine is brutal, you would imagine a people who suffered as the jews did would be the last to impose such brutality but you live and learn, they are heartless.
@Honeybee: Except, of course, that the government hasn’t “acted”. Israel won’t pay the slightest bit of attention to this.
@Justin Gillespie: not true.. this is hugely important as its going to make major news and shed a much needed light on what Israel is doing. Its the last thing Israel needs at the moment.
@Justin Gillespie: do you not think it is despicable because of the violence done to people, or just because it harms Israel’s interests in the states?
It’s good to see that Ireland is leading that way in the EU on this issue. It is getting international recognition for doing so, I have seen Ireland credited with this in various places online.
That said “leading the EU” is setting the bar incredibly low considering the rest of them are doing absolutely nothing about it.
For obvious reasons, Germany seem too ashamed and embarrassed to do anything other than continue their “special relationship” with Israel. Considering Germany’s power in the EU bloc, this doesn’t bode well for the Palestinians.
On top of this Germany, UK, and France all sell weapons to the Israelis.
Moreover, the UK, who started this whole mess with the Balfour Declaration, are in on it. They have apparently sold around £400m worth of weapons to the Israelis since 2015.
Israel have acted with complete impunity for the last 60 odd years and will continue to do so. Why? Because they know they can.
They portray Hamas as terrorists and yet over 20 times more Palestinians than Israelis have died in the conflict since 2008. Just because one group is killing people with pipe bombs and the other uses an F-15E Strike Eagles with 50 times more efficiency does not make them any less of a terrorist.
Granted, there isn’t much little old Ireland can do about this. This Dail motion is a start. But it is just words, Israel have openly been committing atrocities for years they don’t care about what we say.
But we can lead by example by setting sanctions that may actually hurt their back pocket.
Getting The Occupied Territories Bill signed into law needs to happen fast. We must boycott Israel.
Better late than never I suppose. The government still haven’t recognised Palestine as a country in its own right
This makes me so so proud. Long live the Palestinian people
Off course FF and FG voted against ,
disgraceful , but not surprising
@Sean Mckevitt: the motion passed so no they didn’t
@Sean Mckevitt: your not the best at maths
@John Sheehan: I think he is referring to the motion to expel the Israel ambassador. Labour also voted against it.
@CRow: how did SF vote on it?
@John Sheehan: Eh no it didn’t. The motion to expel the Israeli ambassador and impose sanctions was voted against. Read past the headline maybe.
The longest journey starts with the first step
Simon Covney has been brilliant on this issue. We’re often seen as puppets of the EU, US and large corporates but it was refreshing to see a politician stand up for what is just and right even it may not play well for our pockets or theirs.
Israel government are criminal war for steal Palestinian land and world leaders should sanctions Israel. Many innocent people including children in Palestinian
It’s a nice thought, but it’s as useful as a bowel motion. Sanctions are needed from the EU.
ليأتي اليوم
@To Mt: Today is as good a day as any to call out the Israeli regime for decades of ill treatment of Palestinians, the world is watching, no more excuses.
@Honeybee: its translates to “our day will come”
@To Mt: I already googled it….
@Honeybee: well I couldn’t tell if you could tell where my support was based off your reply. But good to know you can use Google
@To Mt: The expression “Tiocfaidh ár lá .” which translates the same is the one I was more familiar with, so it was interesting to find out what it was you meant, thank goodness for google.
@Honeybee: but if you knew what it meant the why did you have to go and find out what it meant? Seems you’re more having a conversation with yourself here even since you jumped on my comment. You feeling alright?
Does anyone know whether the Green Party voted to expel the Israeli ambassador?
I know that FG, FF and Labour voted against it, but I haven’t seen the green vote reported anywhere.
@CRow: how did SF vote on it
@Patrick O Connell: they voted for it.
The only thing that any regime understands is numbers and pressure as in ” You won’t be in power next time out ” and that starts somewhere ask Mary Manning and the Dunnes Strikers.
Great news I support this! Time for votes on china’s take over of Hong Kong and the west treating democratic Taiwan as a second class state to be brought to a vote
@Seán Ryan: Hong Kong was always a part of China. Seems you have no problem with the British exploitation of a colony that was taken from China by swamping China with opium by the British. As for Taiwan..a corrupt dictator backed by the U.S. took refuge there . Funny old world when a nation that went to war with China to import drugs (The opium wars) or the U.S.who backed a despot Dictator becomes hero’s.
@Donal Desmond: Don’t think anyone is saying anything about heros. Mao certainly wasn’t one! But Taiwan is Taiwan now, and not China.
Why are we hearing only Barrett’s voice on the matter?.
The Israelis wont even blink an eyelid not to mind quaking in the boots at Richard Boyd Barrett Dail motion,what are we going to do now send in a squadron of hired jet fighters (we don’t have any not a single one) maybe impose sanctions on Israel because passing a Dail motion without follow up action is nonsense and totally meaningless,
The world held its breath
Now banish the Israeli ambassador from Ireland, and encourage other countries to do likewise.
Do you not think it is despicable because of the voilence done to people, just because it harms Israel’s interests in the states?
But look at the alternatives for Palestinians – Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi etc etc.
have your say