This timeline of the Thai cave rescue highlights the pivotal role of the diving operations.

By Raimund Huber

“I often reflect on ‘what was essential to the outcome of the rescue’ debate…. In essence it can be pared down to the core dive  team* during the search, supply and extrication phases, plus a group of Sherpas to help the supply chain of cylinders etc to the advance dive base of ch3 (chamber 3).

So no pumping or diversions, no SEALs or thousands of people outside, no aerial ropeway . Obviously this is being very disingenuous to all those who participated and made minor impacts, but none of them were in-fact critical to the eventual outcome.”

– Rick Stanton/leader of the British cave rescue divers

RESCUE DAY 1 – SATURDAY – JUNE 23, 2018

Twelve boys from the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach entered Thailand’s Tham Luang cave for what was meant to be a brief exploration. Unexpected monsoon rains flooded the cave, trapping them deep inside. As the rising waters cut off their exit, a race against time began. What started as a local search quickly escalated into an international rescue effort—setting the stage for one of the most daring and unforgettable rescue missions in modern history.

RESCUE DAY 2 – SUNDAY – JUNE 24, 2018

Local authorities contacted Vernon Unsworth, a British expat and hobby caver, and Kamon Kunngamkwamdee, a former park ranger, both of whom had explored the Tham Luang cave together since 2012, along with two other British cavers, Martin Ellis and Robert Harper.

(Vernon Unsworth – Kamon Kunngamkwamdee)

Unsworth and Kunngamkwamdee quickly assessed the situation, realizing that a pool of water had formed at the cave’s T-junction due to incoming water from the right, specifically from the Monk Series. This blockage threatened to trap anyone who had ventured past that point.

After careful consideration, the two caving experts ruled out the possibility that the boys had taken the right passage to the Monk Series because of its narrow and water-filled nature. Instead, they believed the children had passed the T-junction to the left, potentially reaching an area known as Pattaya Beach.

Determined to assist in the rescue, Unsworth, Kunngamkwamdee, and local rescuers devised a plan to dam the incoming water from the Monk Series using sandbags while simultaneously pumping water out of the pool with a water pump. However, as they began laying down the sandbags, the strong current washed them away, forcing the team to abandon this approach.

In an effort to continue their work, they activated the diesel-powered water pump, but soon found that it filled the cave with noxious fumes and carbon monoxide. Reluctantly, they were compelled to abandon this idea as well, realizing the challenges ahead were far greater than they had anticipated.

(The Rescue – National Geographic)

“Who would run an internal combustion engine inside a closed space? That is utter madness.”

– Rick Stanton

Though Unsworth and Kunngamkwamdee had the best intentions in trying to help the children, their efforts proved to be ineffective.

RESCUE DAY 3 – MONDAY – JUNE 25, 2018

A team of Thai Navy divers, led by Captain Anan Surawan, arrived at Tham Luang cave around midnight. After a quick briefing, they entered the cave and reached the critical T-junction by 5 a.m.

Navigating through pitch-black, murky water with near-zero visibility, the SEALs relied on ropes and touch to find their way forward. They located and cleared the blocked left passage that local rescuers with the help of Unsworth and Kunngamkwamdee had struggled to find but, 200 meters in, encountered another submerged section. With oxygen running low—each diver carrying only one tank—they were forced to retreat.

Despite aborting the mission, they made a crucial discovery: handprints and footprints beyond the T-junction, offering hope that the missing children were close.

On that Monday morning, Robert Harper, who had been following the rescue efforts closely through Unsworth, recognized the need for specialized expertise. He contacted Unsworth to suggest involving two British cave rescue divers: Rick Stanton and John Volanthen. Unsworth noted down their names.

(Robert Harper – British Cave Rescue Council)

Harper then reached out to Stanton and Volanthen, asking them to be on standby. However, they were aware that an official request from the Thai authorities would be necessary for their formal involvement. Understanding this requirement, the British divers took initiative. They emailed the Thai embassy in the UK and began working their contacts to secure the official invitation needed for their participation in the rescue effort.

“We were so sure that we could play a part in saving these kids, that we reached out to the British government to contact the Thai government on our behalf”

– Rick Stanton

RESCUE DAY 4 – TUESDAY – JUNE 26, 2018

On Tuesday disaster loomed. Rising floodwaters surged toward Chamber 6, near the critical T-junction deep inside the cave. Thai Navy SEALs, leading the effort, managed to lay a safety guideline from Chamber 6 to the T-Junction but couldn’t relocate the vital passageway on the left they had found the day before. With water levels relentlessly rising, the SEALs were forced to retreat, losing precious ground.

Aware of the worsening conditions, Unsworth entered the cave that afternoon. Reaching Chamber 3, 800 meters from the T-junction, he was stunned to find how far the floodwaters had surged in just one day. The rescuers had been forced back nearly 800 meters, and it became clear to Unsworth—they were losing the fight against nature, and conventional methods were failing.

Despite living in Thailand for over six years, Unsworth had not fully adapted to Thai cultural norms and communication styles. He urged Thai authorities to bring in two expert British cave divers, first appealing to Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn, the rescue leader, and then to Weerasak Kowsurat, the Minister of Sports and Tourism.

(Vern Unsworth – HuffPost)

When these attempts failed, Unsworth made a decisive move—he called Robert Harper and handed the phone to Minister Weerasak. This direct exchange broke through cultural and bureaucratic barriers. That evening, the British Cave Rescue Council mobilized Harper, Rick Stanton, and John Volanthen, and six hours later, they were en route to Thailand.

RESCUE DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY – JUNE 27, 2018

As floodwaters surged into Chamber 3, the Thai Navy SEALs evacuated, fearing the entire cave would soon be underwater. Lieutenant Kai’s team was ordered to block all entry, while a small group led by Lieutenant Boom stayed behind to monitor the rising waters. At 8 PM, British divers Robert Harper, Rick Stanton, and John Volanthen arrived at the rescue site and met Unsworth. Harper, an experienced cave diver familiar with the site, had seemingly briefed Stanton and Volanthen during their flight.

(Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Robert Harper, Vern Unsworth)

At the cave entrance, they faced immediate resistance from Lieutenant Kai, who warned them of the extreme danger inside. Despite the language barrier, Unsworth served as the liaison for the British divers and grew increasingly insistent. As Lieutenant Kai denied them entry, the confrontation escalated, with Unsworth becoming more aggressive. Lieutenant Commander Piyaphan later recalled that Unsworth was trying to pick a fight. Volanthen joined the fray, while only Stanton and Harper maintained their composure, recognizing the futility of arguing with a soldier under orders.

“This SEAL had been given an order not to let anyone through, and his job was to follow orders.”

– Rick Stanton

Unsworth sought higher authority, escalating the dispute to Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, commander of Thailand’s Navy SEALs. Eventually, approval was granted for the British divers to enter the cave.

(The Rescue – National Geographic)

Shortly before midnight, Unsworth, Harper, Stanton, and Volanthen entered the cave, where they encountered Lieutenant Boom and his team evacuating due to rising water that now passed Chamber 3. Ignoring his warnings, the British team pressed on.

About 700 meters into the cave, the group reached a V-shaped passage just 50 meters from Chamber 3. As Harper led them through the narrow, meter-wide opening, the Thai Navy SEALs’ warnings proved true: water surged, flooding the passage and leaving Harper with only a small pocket of air to breathe. Panic set in among the Brits.

Harper, a 65-year-old man who was overweight and not in peak physical condition, faced a life-or-death decision: continue forward to Chamber 3 and force a rescue or attempt a risky freedive back through the flooded passage. In a moment of sheer determination, Harper chose to risk his life and freedive back, narrowly escaping disaster. Just 30 minutes after entering, the British team was forced to follow the Thai Navy SEALs back to the surface, tarnishing their reputation and eroding the SEALs’ respect for them.

After the near-catastrophe, Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, or Pae, a Thai tech diver advising the SEALs, recommended bringing in Ben Reymenants, a Belgian cave diving expert from Phuket.

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

RESCUE DAY 6 – THURSDAY – JUNE 28, 2018

Rick Stanton and John Volanthen re-entered the cave early to find it flooded to the entrance, just as the Thai Navy SEALs had predicted. In Chamber 3, they found four stranded water well workers from the previous night’s evacuation. The divers guided them safely through the submerged V-shaped passage—where Robert Harper had his incident the night before—and back to safety.

Meanwhile, Unsworth and Harper spent days exploring the possibility of an alternate entrance from above the mountain, likely just for appearances, knowing no such entrance existed.

“I made trips to the top of the mountain to try to find another way into the cave system – which I knew would not happen but decided to do in order to satisfy others who would try anything to help, rather than say ‘no, you will just be wasting your time and energy’. I wanted them to feel good about what they wanted to try and do.”

– Vern Unsworth/HuffPost

Ben Reymenants arrived at the rescue site, met with Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, and, after briefing with the Thai Navy SEAL commander, headed to the cave to assess conditions with the British team.

Rick Stanton questioned Reymenants’ qualifications, thinking he lacked experience in limited visibility and strong currents.

“To my knowledge he (Reymenants) did not however have any river cave or sump diving experience to anywhere near the extent that we possessed.”

– Rick Stanton

Ryemenants relayed the SEALs’ report of an alternate entrance during their Monday dive, contradicting Unsworth’s claim—backed by Harper—that no such restriction existed en route to Pattaya Beach. Despite Unsworth’s argument, Reymenants could not ignore the SEALs’ input, aware he was brought in due to the British team’s friction with them. After just a 20 minutes meeting, the British divers distanced themselves from Reymenants and his team, opting to align with the newly arrived U.S. Air Force team.

“We felt this was creating a confusing situation, so from that point onward we largely distanced ourselves from him (Ben Reymenanats) and his group. We mainly conferred with the USAF contingent from then to get our messages across.”

– Rick Stanton

(Ben Reymenants and Ruengrit Changkwanyuen with the British team in front of the cave)

As the afternoon wore on, Vernon Unsworth unexpectedly gave an interview to the BBC. When asked about the trapped group’s chances after five days missing, his response was chilling. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the Tham Luang cave, Unsworth delivered a stark assessment, effectively setting a 24-hour countdown on the children’s survival.

RESCUE DAY 7 – FRIDAY – JUNE 29, 2018

Ben Reymenants arrived at Chamber 3, now the forward base for the search, only to face a grim sight. Where a dive point should have been, there was nothing but a small, muddy puddle with a swirling vortex at its center. Undeterred by the treacherous conditions and the Navy SEALs’ lack of cave-diving expertise, he resolved to dive alone.

Inside the cave was pure chaos— powerful currents, and zero visibility. Reymenants got stuck repeatedly, tangled in cables and fire hoses snaking through the water. After narrowly escaping these deadly traps multiple times, he had no choice but to abort the mission.

Rick Stanton and John Volanthen re-entered the cave to assess the conditions but found higher water levels and stronger currents than the day before, making further progress impossible, The Brits canceled their dive. 

“The current was even stronger than the previous day and we felt that diving progress would have been virtually impossible beyond chamber 3 judging from what we had observed on Thursday whilst we conducted the rescue.”

– Rick Stanton

On his way back from his dive, Reymenants ran into Stanton and Volanthen at the V-shaped passage, and they agreed to report to Thai authorities that diving was not possible that day.

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

For Reymenants, a glimmer of hope emerged with the arrival of Maksym Polejaka at the rescue site. With Polejaka, whom Reymenants had personally trained in cave diving for years, Reymenants had a skilled and reliable partner.

(Ben Reymenants and Maksym Polejaka)

However, Reymenants, drawing from his first dive experience, understood that he needed a much thicker rope than his 1mm nylon cave line to withstand the cave’s fierce currents. Therefore, he borrowed a sample rope from John Volanthen—though not without some resistance from him—to inform the Thai Navy SEALs.

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

(Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, Ben Reymenants and Maksym Polejaka with John Volanthen’s rope)

Unlike Reymenants, the Brits lost hope as Unsworth’s 24-hour countdown for the children’s survival expired. Convinced that the impossible diving conditions would not improve and believing the boys could not have survived longer then 5-6 days in the cave, they began to lose faith and make plans to retreat.

“The UK dive teams’ assessment is that due to the flow of the water, continued search operations are not warranted, and the focus should shift to recovery. They stated they would not be conducting any more diving operations and would be departing the following day.”

– Jeremiah Lumbaca/Lt. Col., U.S. Army – Ph.D. Professor

RESCUE DAY 8 – SATURDAY – JUNE 30, 2018

When Rick Stanton and John Volanthen told the Thai authorities of their intention to return to England, the officials, acutely aware of the world’s focus on the rescue, urged the British team to stay through the weekend. They feared that media footage of the divers packing their equipment and departing would send a devastating message to the world: the children were dead. Though reluctant, Stanton and Volanthen agreed to remain but made it clear they would no longer participate in the diving efforts.

“The UK dive team notifies the RTG (Royal Thai Government) that they plan to return to the UK since they now deem this a recovery operation. It is requested they stay as a show of solidarity with the Thai people. They agree to stay for an undetermined amount of time, but they did not plan on continuing dive operations unless the water flow in the cave subsided. UK dive team is approached by a representative from the RTG and asked if they thought a rescue was still an option. All four members (Unsworth, Harper, Stanton and Volanthen) unanimously replied “no”.”

– Jeremiah Lumbaca/Lt. Col., U.S. Army – Ph.D. Professor

In contrast to the British divers’ pessimism, Admiral Arpakorn Yuukongkaew refused to lose hope, believing the children were strong and still alive. Showing leadership and compassion, he asked for volunteers among the Thai Navy SEALs to continue the search without forcing anyone to risk their lives. Ben Reymenants and Maksym Polejaka stepped forward. While the British gave the children only 5-6 days to survive, Reymenants believed they could hold out for 14 days if they stayed calm—driving him to remain with the SEALs.

“The conditions are very bad, once you’re in there you can’t see anything at all. But if the coach is clever it’s possible they could survive for two weeks without contact.”

– Ben Reymenants/Time Magazine

(Ben Reymenants, Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn and Maksym Polejaka)

Before the British team joined Unsworth for a mountain trip, they met Ben Reymenants, who was with the Thai Navy SEALs preparing safety guidelines. Stanton noticed Reymenants had posted incorrect information, claiming he reached Chamber 3—2.5 km inside the cave, though it was only 800 m. Aware this meant Reymenants’ and the SEALs’ maps were wrong, Stanton said nothing, merely shook his hand, and congratulated him on the achievement.

“In Chamber 1 we were met by Ben, who had been making claims that he had dived 2.5 kilometres into the cave. We thought this would have been impossible.”

“I merely shook his (Reymenants) hand and told him, ‘Well done for getting 2.5 kilometres.”

– Rick Stanton

Reymenants received a map from the Thai Navy SEALs showing a 3 km distance to the T-Junction (2.5 km to Chamber 3 and an additional 500 m), rather than the correct 1.5 km. It’s unclear why the Thai authorities had this inaccurate map, especially since Vern Unsworth and his caving buddy, Kamon Kunngamkwamdee, had advised them on the cave system from the beginning.

However, before the British divers arrived, Unsworth had told CNN, the NYT, and a Thai Navy officer that the distance to the T-Junction was 3 km.

“He (Unsworth) said a big pool of water is continually rising in a section of the cave about 3 kilometers (1.7 miles) from the entrance.”

– CNN/June 26, 2018

“From the entrance, a path leads about two miles into the cave complex before splitting into two directions, said Vernon Unsworth, a British spelunker who lives in Chiang Rai and has been exploring Tham Luang for more than six years.”

– NYT/June 27, 2018

In contrast, Stanton and Volanthen’s map—likely from Robert Harper—indicated 2 km to the T-Junction, still 25% off.

But what mattered most was that Reymenants and the Thai Navy SEALs, who pressed on with the search, never received this crucial information from the British team, who had given up on the children.

Stanton also messaged Dr. Richard Harris, an Australian anaesthetist and cave diver who would later join the rescue, warning that Ben Reymenants had a personality disorder and was out of his depth, believing Reymenants and the SEALs would fail.

(Rick Stanton cropped and censored the message he had sent to Dr. Richard Harris before presenting it as evidence.)

After a day’s trip around the mountain the British team returned to their resort, planning the next day’s sightseeing over a few beers, while Reymenants and Polejaka readied themselves for a dive.

RESCUE DAY 9 – SUNDAY – JULY 1, 2018

Little did anyone know that this day would mark a turning point in the desperate search for the trapped boys and their coach.

The Thai Navy SEALs entered first and made progress but got stuck, swimming in a circle 70 meters in. At 3 AM, Ben Reymenants and Maksym Polejaka dove in with 200 meters of thick rope in a rice bag. Improved visibility helped them push through the tricky section that had stalled the Thai Navy Seals, laying a guideline beyond chamber 4 and clearing the path for the SEALs to continue.

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

Unaware of the morning’s progress, Vernon Unsworth took Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, and Robert Harper on a temple sightseeing tour. Their trip was cut short by a message from Reymenants informing them of the improved conditions inside the cave.. Though skeptical, Stanton and Volanthen headed back to the cave to meet with Reymenants.

At the cave, Stanton explained they had canceled their involvement and could no longer dive, as they no longer had any affiliation. Reymenants invited them to join him, and Ruengrit Changkwanyuen secured approval from Admiral Apakorn Youkongkaew. Still skeptical, Stanton agreed to dive—but only as an assessment, not a full commitment to the rescue.

(Rick Stanton’s message to Ben Reymenants)

By the time Stanton and Volanthen reached Chamber 3, the Thai SEALs had extended the guideline to Chamber 5. Unbeknownst to the SEALs, with help from Reymenants and Polejaka, they had not only made significant progress but also secured the cave’s most challenging section with a safety line—despite relying on a map the British divers knew was inaccurate.

“This dive was the most complex, again navigating around stalagmites with some challenging narrow sections. Also hampered by phone and electrical cables as well as hoses from the pumps.”

– Rick Stanton

(The Rescue – National Geographic)

When it was the Brits’ turn, Volanthen refused to use the thick rope favored by Reymenants and the SEALs. However, after the SEALs insisted, Stanton told Volanthen to follow their request.

“At first John was reluctant to accept the sacks from Jay, but for once I thought we needed to conform with the Thais’ plan. ‘I think we should do what they request,’ I urged John. ‘Besides, we’re going to need a hauling rope.”

– Rick Stanton

The decision to use the thick rope, as suggested by Reymenants, was praised by most, if not all, of the rescue divers during the extraction of the children, including the Australian doctors.

“They had wisely decided to use the fatter climbing rope, stronger than regular line. They knew that quite a few people would be coming and going from the cave, and not just experienced cave divers. That climbing rope was sure to get an absolute flogging, but it wasn’t going to break no matter how many untrained amateurs yanked on it. If they’d used normal braided line, it would have already been in tatters or pulled loose for sure.”

– Dr. Craig Challen

Stanton also credits it along the same lines but also for its lower “entanglement hazard”

“Cave divers typically use thin cord to lay line, but the thicker rope being offered would be useful for people who were pulling themselves along against the current and less likely to cause an entanglement hazard. Ben had thought of using rope on Friday and had borrowed some of John’s from our gear room, to give the SEALs an idea of what they needed to procure.”

– Rick Stanton

Surfacing in Chamber 5, the British divers were surprised to find a canal passage with only a few short dives, stretching hundreds of meters. This shattered their belief that the cave beyond Chamber 3 was fully submerged, as Vernon Unsworth had predicted. Moving through the air spaces, they realized Unsworth was wrong—and hope grew. The boys might have found refuge instead of being overwhelmed by the flood.

The canal passage offered a great advantage for the two British divers, as it was only partially flooded, allowing them to swim. This provided Stanton and Volanthen with better visibility, improved communication, and the ability to preserve air.

It was believed that Stanton and Volanthen laid the safety guideline all the way to the T-Junction, but this is not true. Instead, they connected their line to the Thai Navy SEALs’ line from Tuesday (rescue day 4) at Chamber 6, which had already been extended to the T-Junction. This established an unbroken 800-meter safety line from Chamber 3 to the T-Junction.

Following the Thai SEALs’ line to the T-Junction, Stanton and Volanthen were unfortunately unable to locate the left passageway (south exit) that rescuers had struggled to find during the first few days of the rescue, which led to the way to the children.

Reymenants tried to gather information about the British divers’ progress, but Stanton only noted that they had gone much further than he had. And when he asked if they had recorded anything, Stanton revealed that they had made a pact not to film anything.

RESCUE DAY 10 – MONDAY – JULY 2, 2018

Unfortunately, like Stanton and Volanthen, the Thai Navy SEALs were also unable to find the critical passageway at the T-junction leading to Pattaya Beach, where Unsworth had predicted the children would be.

At 9AM, Ben Reymenants and Maksym Polejaka, resumed the search. At the T-junction Reymenants got briefly stuck, needing Polejaka’s help to free him, and they lost one of their vital rope-filled rice bags. With Polejaka’s air running low, they thought about turning back. Then, by sheer luck, Reymenants dropped his light, and in that flash, he glimpsed the passageway they’d been desperately seeking.

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

With his air running low, Maksym stayed behind as Reymenants pressed on. Unknowingly, Reymenants clipped his line to a loose, insecure line—likely left by Volanthen at the T-junction. As he moved away, his carabiner slipped off. Luckily, Maksym spotted the problem in time, securing Ben’s line to a stable tie-off. One can only imagine the outcome if Maksym hadn’t stayed behind.

“Where we tied the line on the Sunday 1st July was to a stalactite on the right wall, as we are looking at it, just before the feature labeled as the blind rift. John says it was not a very secure tie off point. It is clearly beyond the junction.”

– Rick Stanton

(13 LOST: – The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue)

Reymenants laid the remaining rope, creating a path surfacing near Chamber 7—a crucial breakthrough for the next dive team. Back in Chamber 3, he and Polejaka briefed British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, sharing the good news: the line now extended past the T-junction. If Vernon Unsworth’s estimate was right, they were only 200 meters from the boys at Pattaya Beach.

Stanton and Volanthen continued extending the safety guideline, fortunately encountering another canal section that was only partially flooded, from Chamber 7 to Chamber 8, where Pattaya Beach was believed to be.

However, upon arrival, they were met with a stark realization: Unsworth’s prediction was wrong again. The children were nowhere to be found at Pattaya Beach. According to Stanton, it seemed unlikely that anyone could have survived in such conditions here.

“What the fuck is Vern going on about? There’s nowhere here that would have survived the floods of Thursday and Friday.’ This was absolutely Pattaya Beach, and the boys were clearly not there.”

– Rick Stanton

The Brits knew Tham Luang was a straightforward cave system—just long, with one way in and out. All they had to do was keep moving forward, so Stanton and Volanthen decided to push on.

As Stanton and Volanthen dived from Pattaya Beach to Chamber 9—a 200-meter stretch described by Australian doctors as “by far the nicest bit in the cave”—they nearly reached the end of their guideline and surfaced in an air pocket. Swimming a bit further, they made a discovery that would captivate the world: all twelve boys and their coach, alive, huddled on a ledge in a side chamber off the main passage, Chamber 9.

“It was Unsworth who initally pinpointed where he thought the Wild Boars team would be waiting. They were found 200 meters away from that point, which was “probably around about the best place they could have been,” he said.”

– Unsworth/CNN

When Stanton and Volanthen returned with the incredible news that the Wild Boars football team was alive, four Thai Navy SEALs made their way to Chamber 9 with essential supplies: energy gel packs (since the children couldn’t yet eat solid food), medicine, aluminum blankets and others.

Volanthen claimed that Reymenants was emotional and wanted to rescue the children immediately, without a plan. This claim, denied by Reymenants, does not align with what Reymenants told the media that night—namely, that they would likely develop an extraction plan and that the final decision rested with the Admiral in charge.

It turned out that it was the British team who panicked and wanted to rescue the children immediately, as Unsworth told the New York Times the same evening the boys were found.

“Mr. Unsworth, a caver from Britain who lives nearby and has been exploring Tham Luang Cave for more than six years, said it would be far better for the boys to be taken out immediately by experienced cave divers than to be forced to wait for months.

“It is just the logistical thing of how to get them out, because they have never dived before,” he said. “They will have to learn very quickly, like in the next few hours. If not today, it could be tomorrow.”

He said the boys could use full face masks so they would not have to learn how to breathe through a demand valve, which most divers use.”

– Vernon Unsworth/NYT

RESCUE DAY 11 – TUESDAY – JULY 3, 2018

After the British divers located the children and signaled they no longer wanted to work with Reymenants (later confirmed by the USAF), Ben felt there were too many cooks in the kitchen and decided to leave with the newly arrived Euro Team (Mikko Paasi, Erik Brown, Claus Rasmussen and Ivan Karadzic), who would take over his and his team’s role.

Although Reymenants stayed in contact with Stanton and offered to return if needed, Stanton insisted he had enough personnel—a prediction that later proved inaccurate.

Rick Stanton and John Volanthen remained at the rescue site, but when the Thai authorities relegated them to an advisory role and placed them no longer at the forefront, opting instead to explore all available options for a “no-risk” plan to rescue the children, Rick and John considered leaving Thailand again, but finally decided to stay.

Meanwhile, Unsworth’s and Harper’s roles came to an end as they weren’t able to contribute anything more to the rescue since the children were found. Harper returned to England the next day, but Unsworth stayed as he was in proximity to the rescue site, living just 15 minutes away from the Tham Luang cave.

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AFTER THE RESCUE

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COMING SOON

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