Lest we forget: Thai media heralds brave diver "Sam" who died as millions donated to his family

[steveyinasia]

3 hours ago, ba ba said:

If only he had checked  how much air he had in his tank before setting out on that final trip he would be with us today

if only you had of checked your brain was engaged before making such an unfounded statement

[ogb]

A champion in more ways than one. Thanks "Sam", RIP

https://issuu.com/54858/docs/bicycles_united_tribute_to_sam_guna

[Petmag]

One of the brave, never to be forgotten.. RIP..

[CGW]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

 

How do you KNOW it is the truth?

 

Were you on the site as his dive buddy watching out for him as he would be watching out for you?

 

Unless you were there you have no idea and are only speculating.

I suggest you read the post I was quoting before attacking, quite obviously I wasn't there, off course I am speculating, whats your point? Is all speculation supposed to be positive, regardless of what the truth may be? 

Read the OP.

[faraday]

Dear oh dear.....

 

Please stop the bickering.

[chubbychops]

Condolences to the family of this hero.  I hope the Thai Gov't will erect a statue of him and place it at the Tham Luang cave area which, by the sounds of it, will be a tourist hot spot for years to come.  Let us never forget him and the ultimate price he paid.

[HHTel]

I'm not sure how reliable this source is but if true it would explain this tragic death :

 

Quote

Ex-SEAL Diver Who Died in Cave Rescue Attempt Was an Avid Runner, Cyclist

 

Former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan was exiting the cave when overtaken by a flash flood on Friday. While the trapped survivors received their payload, Kunan, 38, did not have enough oxygen left over and succumbed to the powerful water. His body was brought to the surface by another diver.

His diving partner found him unconscious and tried to resuscitate him, but attempts were unsuccessful.

 

It would seem from the above, that he wasn't prepared for an unexpected flood putting him underwater.

 

Source: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a22088247/who-was-ex-seal-diver-in-thailand-cave-rescue/

[Happyman58]

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

Shame on you making that post.

You like the rest of us do not know all the facts about what happened, so shut up.

Well said Col Aussie way of saying something back to something you don't like and rubbishing a guy who gave his life to save kids is   Shut the f--------ck up mate

[Mark mark]

What a REAL Hero ! He went there, retired, and at an older age, and he did it.

 

A Very Unfortunate accident. It looks like the Tanks may have got mixed up ? ... I am no expert, an armature diver of oh 45 dives and YES, it gets much Harder, as you get older if you do not do it every day ! ...

 

I think that you can tell how much compressed air is in a tank, by how heavy it is ? ... Like your buoyancy changed markedly as the tank becomes empty I think, particularly if it is a steel one ? I think ? .... I think that there are Fiber ? Tanks and steal Tanks, and the steal ones are much heavier that the fiber ones ? ... 

 

Just a realy REALLY tragic accident !!! ...

 

...  Still he will be remembered and for a long time ! ... and possibly a very long time, (What else do we have after Death ?) .... Like probably a Monument at the cave for him ! ? .... So remembered and by his decedents, ...  for ever really ...

[BangkokSausage]

All this bickering nonsense on a thread to honor a fallen hero. Doesn't matter how he died but that he did while unselfishly giving his time and expertise for those boys

[overherebc]

4 minutes ago, Mark mark said:

What a REAL Hero ! He went there, retired, and at an older age, and he did it.

 

A Very Unfortunate accident. It looks like the Tanks may have got mixed up ? ... I am no expert, an armature diver of oh 45 dives and YES, it gets much Harder, as you get older if you do not do it every day ! ...

 

I think that you can tell how much compressed air is in a tank, by how heavy it is ? ... Like your buoyancy changed markedly as the tank becomes empty I think, particularly if it is a steel one ? I think ? .... I think that there are Fiber ? Tanks and steal Tanks, and the steal ones are much heavier that the fiber ones ? ... 

 

Just a realy REALLY tragic accident !!! ...

 

...  Still he will be remembered and for a long time ! ... and possibly a very long time, (What else do we have after Death ?) .... Like probably a Monument at the cave for him ! ? .... So remembered and by his decedents, ...  for ever really ...

When all the kids are safely out of hospital and back on their feet 100% physically and mentally maybe think about call the team Sam's Boars.

[ttrd]

4 hours ago, CGW said:

Unpopular as this statement will be, its the truth, bearing in mind that we don't know the full story, it it appears he made a mistake, a mistake he paid the ultimate price for! 

Respect for putting himself in that position to start with. 

The real mistake is to claim the truth without having a Clue....

[Brunolem]

More about khun Saman...

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/widow-thai-navy-seal-died-remarks-2018-7?am byp%3Butm_medium=referral

 

And some photos of the rescue operation...

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/photos-dramatic-images-thailand-cave-slideshow-wp-202742588/photo-p-thai-people-celebrate-learning-photo-202742207.html

Edited July 11, 2018 by Brunolem

[Cake Monster]

The loss of a true Hero that gave the ultimate in the rescue of the 13 stranded victims .

I hope that he will be remembered with a plaque on the entrance to the cave where he lost his life at the very least.

RIP brave man and condolences to your family and friends.

 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, CGW said:

I suggest you read the post I was quoting before attacking, quite obviously I wasn't there, off course I am speculating, whats your point? Is all speculation supposed to be positive, regardless of what the truth may be? 

Read the OP.

 

Yes I did read the post and no I did not attack you. I tried to point out to you that you had and still have no idea what caused his death.

 

There is a huge difference between speculation and the truth.

 

People have pointed out that there are at least 5 things that could have caused his death but until the truth is published why bother to post a guess.

 

It doesn't prove anything and can easily cause pain to his family.

[africasiaeuro]

R.I.P. He was a hero. No words can account for the pain and sorrow. What tragedy.

 

 

 

[cardinalblue]

I believe it said he ran out of O2 so if one wants to follow the cause-effect scenario.... 

 

I know the Thai media will milk this feel good cave story as long as possible. But the reality is 3 youngsters 18 and under every day on average drown in Thailand and 2 youngsters age 15 and under on average die in motorcycle accidents as the DRIVER of motorcycles. So that means 34 nameless/faceless/storyless kids died on motor bikes in Thailand while these 13 kids/coach were in the cave...

 

Back to reality guys if statistically inclined and to the media plenty of ammunition to now focus your energies and attention.........

 

P.S. The media controls the culture.... 

 

 

[hotchilli]

He died trying to do his utmost to help support a rescue operation trying to reach the stranded boys...

what happened, why it happened or any such remarks are irrelevant..

he got out of the armchair and did something !!!!

Respect to the man, condolences to his family!!

 

[Tug]

Perhaps it was your spirit that help shepherd and calm our little wild boars out of the cave calming and loving bless you Sam a fine example of devotion your family though grieving must be proud Tug

[Mark mark]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

He died trying to do his utmost to help support a rescue operation trying to reach the stranded boys...

what happened, why it happened or any such remarks are irrelevant..

he got out of the armchair and did something !!!!

Respect to the man, condolences to his family!!

 

Yes Right on mannn, ....  This is just how I would like to describe it, ....  And Life in general !  Nice, and Thanks.

…  And no way would I join in the bickering from the last couple of pages ... But, …

 

But I used to be an armature diver, 45 dives.  In the sea, but I also was a Big Cave expedition man, for a large part of my Life.  And it is VERY Interesting to hear about the quickly the currents in the Cave stream changed in this circumstance, ….  I think that this is how it is in the Massive down pour areas of Thailand, ... and which obviously made taking enough oxygen, against the distance that you had to go, …?  A hard choice.

 

Also, you know that some people can use a LOT MORE air while diving, than others.  …  I think it depends on how relaxed you are, like poor old Sam, probably was not relaxed, … for a very justified Reasons.  …  And I think that body mass also may affect it.

 

I went diving in a pretty strong current, on a Wreak well off Pullu Pherentian in Malaysia once, and well, Big Fat Me ?  Well small fat me, ... 176 cm and 100 kg.  … And even though I knew what was going on, and tried to control my movements, and breathing, in a fairly predictable situation,  ....  I used up my air a lot LOT faster than the others.  ...  I enjoy life, but get Intense and sometimes Anxious, …

 

The Dive master with me, who was an experienced woman, and another woman,  who was of small build, and well both obviously pretty relaxed, left me at the anchor rope, after about 20 or 30 minutes, ... and told me to go back up to the boat !  As I had used up all of my air, ... And they went on diving for at least another 20 Minutes.

 

So Poor old Hero Sam, by the sounds of it, probably had enough air for a normal dive, when he set out, but well, he had to get there, ….  And back, to complete his task,  ... so he could not really turn back early, he had to get there, ... and then he could come back, ….  But the quickly deteriorating bad conditions, re water depth and current strength, probably caused him to use up his air, a LOT faster than he otherwise would have.

 

RIP Good diver and Good Man, Sam.

 

…  Also, Diving is still very dangerous, and even in the sea, I think more divers Die per head, in the sea, ... than Sky divers,…  and cave diving is even more dangerous.  ...  So if you did the stats for number of Diving hours involved, verses deaths, …  quite possibly it was close, or all inside normal statistics.  Particularly cave diving statistics ?

 

…  and RIP Sam. It could have been any of us I think, if we had the experience and had been doing it.

 

...  And I am away before I get trolled or suspended ...

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Mark mark
Changed Mistakes

[Mark mark]

Yes, I also would go for Sam's spirit helping the rescue,  ... Like that is just Like, Life, .. and Death.

[greenchair]

8 hours ago, overherebc said:

I would change your last two words.

I usually use shut your trap. Much more polite. 

[greenchair]

21 minutes ago, Mark mark said:

Yes Right on mannn, ....  This is just how I would like to describe it, ....  And Life in general !  Nice, and Thanks.

…  And no way would I join in the bickering from the last couple of pages ... But, …

 

But I used to be an armature diver, 45 dives.  In the sea, but I also was a Big Cave expedition man, for a large part of my Life.  And it is VERY Interesting to hear about the quickly the currents in the Cave stream changed in this circumstance, ….  I think that this is how it is in the Massive down pour areas of Thailand, ... and which obviously made taking enough oxygen, against the distance that you had to go, …?  A hard choice.

 

Also, you know that some people can use a LOT MORE air while diving, than others.  …  I think it depends on how relaxed you are, like poor old Sam, probably was not relaxed, … for a very justified Reasons.  …  And I think that body mass also may affect it.

 

I went diving in a pretty strong current, on a Wreak well off Pullu Pherentian in Malaysia once, and well, Big Fat Me ?  Well small fat me, ... 176 cm and 100 kg.  … And even though I knew what was going on, and tried to control my movements, and breathing, in a fairly predictable situation,  ....  I used up my air a lot LOT faster than the others.  ...  I enjoy life, but get Intense and sometimes Anxious, …

 

The Dive master with me, who was an experienced woman, and another woman,  who was of small build, and well both obviously pretty relaxed, left me at the anchor rope, after about 20 or 30 minutes, ... and told me to go back up to the boat !  As I had used up all of my air, ... And they went on diving for at least another 20 Minutes.

 

So Poor old Hero Sam, by the sounds of it, probably had enough air for a normal dive, when he set out, but well, he had to get there, ….  And back, to complete his task,  ... so he could not really turn back early, he had to get there, ... and then he could come back, ….  But the quickly deteriorating bad conditions, re water depth and current strength, probably caused him to use up his air, a LOT faster than he otherwise would have.

 

RIP Good diver and Good Man, Sam.

 

…  Also, Diving is still very dangerous, and even in the sea, I think more divers Die per head, in the sea, ... than Sky divers,…  and cave diving is even more dangerous.  ...  So if you did the stats for number of Diving hours involved, verses deaths, …  quite possibly it was close, or all inside normal statistics.  Particularly cave diving statistics ?

 

…  and RIP Sam. It could have been any of us I think, if we had the experience and had been doing it.

 

...  And I am away before I get trolled or suspended ...

 

That was really informative. I understand more what might have happened. 

[Lancashireman]

Sterling work, greatest sacrifice...thank you Sam.

[wvavin]

The governor may like to erect a statue of Sam at the entrance of the cave or else he would be forgotten a week later.

[Tug]

I find a lot of thease speculative comments deeply disturbing I worked as a commercial diver for 34 years I grew up in the business I lost my step dad to the trade to a crappy unnecessary reason it dident lessen the pain do not dis honor this mans sacrifice and devotion I took comfort in my dads sperit when I was cold and alone down there in the dark so put a sock in it will you and honor this man 

[smo]

6 hours ago, CGW said:

8 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

How do you KNOW it is the truth?

 

Were you on the site as his dive buddy watching out for him as he would be watching out for you?

 

Unless you were there you have no idea and are only speculating.

I suggest you read the post I was quoting before attacking, quite obviously I wasn't there, off course I am speculating, whats your point? Is all speculation supposed to be positive, regardless of what the truth may be? 

Read the OP.

 

[Those who do not want to hear, please skip to the next post, don't waste your time.] 

 

Ok, let's speculate  - because the truth will never come out: Why/how did he die? Beside the possibility of an underlying health issue briefly mentioned here and there, he might been overextending himself, from not being top form, getting a bit older or rusty after being out of the field too long; or just sweating over small stuff and not looking at the clock (let's not forget his task was in "installation," not "rescue" - so I don't see any on the spot decision-making or out of the ordinary physical activities were required, hard work yes, extraordinary no...) Any or all of the above could be the straw that broke the camel back. It's unfortunate that his dive buddy was not close by, or being observant of him at the start of their task (or both could be overloaded/overworked.) On the other hand, it could be something wrong with his oxy tank that he overlooked (as aforementioned) simple as that. 

 

A lot of stuff is kept out for the sake of happy-ending news cycle so only the feel-good morsels are shoved down our throat (latest tidbit - "HEARTBREAKING: Father of Aussie diving hero dies just hours after completion of cave rescue!" Huh, I wasn't aware that any diver's father also went along for the ride?) At the end of the day the late seal is crowned a hero, granted in the sense that he put his life on the line for a worthy cause. But could it be one simple mistake/oversight on his (or whose) part that cost him his life? We'll never know. But we'd rather he live than die a hero, therefore would venture to ask: How did it happen that he was the ONLY ONE among dozens other fellow divers who suffered any mishaps, mechanical or otherwise? 

 

Those of us of the inquisitive minds, ie not wanting to bury our head in the sand, were wondering why that bit of investigative reporting was not taken up. We rather learn about what happened than swallow hook line and sinker at what the spin cycles are throwing at us. And this has nothing to do with the respect and condoleances we all feel for his deed and his family, respectively. 

[ThaiTraveller2016]

12 hours ago, grantbkk said:

Is there an official donation site or bank account for Officer Sam?

The family is accepting donations in Saman’s name at Krung Thai Bank account No. 670-0-40100-3.

 

Found this info in a khaosod article.

[CGW]

12 hours ago, smo said:

Those of us of the inquisitive minds, ie not wanting to bury our head in the sand, were wondering why that bit of investigative reporting was not taken up. We rather learn about what happened than swallow hook line and sinker at what the spin cycles are throwing at us. And this has nothing to do with the respect and condoleances we all feel for his deed and his family, respectively. 

That was a surprise, I was expecting another post attacking for speculation, instead someone not caught up in the euphoria is thinking along the same lines as myself.

Not that many years ago I was on a search & rescue training exercise held in a smoke (artificial) filled tunnel system using BA, I ran out of air during the exercise! scary to say the least, & this was controlled with rescue people standing by.

The reason I ran out of air was a faulty air gauge & "hindsight being 20/20" over confidence! when using BA you know how long a cylinder will last, I stupidly overestimated & should have realised the gauge was faulty.

Lesson learnt, unless we are told what happened its not possible to learn from mistakes, I would suspect similar reasoning to what you stated for this tragic incident.

RIP Sam, your heart was in the right place.

[fullcave]

I do believe diving in caves requires specialized training. Was he cave trained or just some cowboy Thai navy seal diver trying to help who got drowned? Condolences to the family, RIP.