British divers reveal astonishing details about rescue of final two boys trapped in Tham Luang cave

 

 

One of the British divers who took part in the rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from the Tham Luang cave astonishing details about the mission.

 

Speaking to ABC 20/20, diver Jason Mallinson described how the rescuers were forced to resort to their “last option” as they “didn’t have anymore time to free the boys”.

 

Mr Mallinson also revealed how the they feared that one of the youngsters might die because his mask would not fit due him being so small.

 

“It didn’t fit him,” he said.

 

“We put it on him, really strapped down tight so his nose was flattened against his face and there was a big gap under his chin. We just couldn’t get it to seal.”

 

Mr Mallsion said he was forced to hold the mask tightly against the boy’s face as he swam with him to the exit, otherwise the boy may have drowned.

 

“You weren’t going back to where they started… It was a case of getting him out. A bit brutal but dead or alive”.

 

He also revealed how the boys had been given ketamine to help keep them calm during the evacuation procedure.

 

Chris Jewell, who rescued the second to last boy, also told the programme how he ran into difficulty during the rescue.

 

Dr Jewell explained how he lost grip of the three inch thick rope that was used to help guide the rescuers out of the cave and that he could not regain grip of it, instead grabbing hold of an electrical cable and using that for guidance.

 

However, this only resulted in him going further into the cave, before he was forced to resurface and place the boy on a ledge after being completely disoriented in the pitch black of the cave water.

 

Luckily for Dr Jewell, Mr Mallinson and Australian Dr Richard Harris who was involved in anesthetizing the boys managed to catch up to him and lead him to safety.

 

Mr Mallinson also revealed how it was his spur of the moment idea to ask the trapped footballers to write letters to their parents on his waterproof notepad.

 

“They never knew they were going to get out of there,it could have been the last message they ever gave to their parents.

 

“I think they wanted to put their parents’ minds at rest.”

 

“It was quite emotional for me to be able pass those messages back,” he added.

 

Source: abc NEWS

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-07-29

Amazing, what a star.

Well done to all involved  

I really admire Mr Mallsion and Mr  Jewell for their honesty and putting reality into this. I cannot imagine the anquish they went  through well removing the young boys.  To be in the situations they were and doing what they did is what makes men proud to be men.. and know there are men like that among us. They are real heroes in my eyes.

Brave Men and have to say if it wasn't for them the Boys would not have survived.    Not enough has been done for them by the Thai Government, whilst they continue to pat themselves on the back for their own Seals, who actually only played a supporting roll !

Very interesting. It is funny that some posters have made light of their efforts, but when you get more details, you realise how incredible it is that the rescue was a complete success. Desperate measures and desperate moments, dealt with brilliantly. Well done again, heroes all.

1 hour ago, trainman34014 said:

Brave Men and have to say if it wasn't for them the Boys would not have survived.    Not enough has been done for them by the Thai Government, whilst they continue to pat themselves on the back for their own Seals, who actually only played a supporting roll !

I disagree, the goverment acted quite well and a capable man was put in charge. You can't expect them to have a team of cave divers ready. The seals were heroes they did more then support the foreign divers they went in before the foreign divers. They played a roll just as big and thankfully ego was not important otherwise the foreign divers would not have been allowed to help. They knew the foreign divers were better trained so they used them, that is what you do work with the best tools available.

 

If you think the divers were heroes.. your right.. but without the Thai support of pumping the water away even your hero divers would not have succeeded. Does that mean they only supported the pump people ?. Just accept it was a team effort instead of the misplaced pride that people get for the deeds of others. (cheering the foreigners just because they were foreigners)

Jolly good show

Guess he wants, or deserves, a role in the upcoming international hit movie that will be produced by the Junta and then by Hollywood...

20 minutes ago, LazySlipper said:

by the Junta and then by Hollywood...

Junta produced = no foreigner

 

Hollywood produced = only USA persons  

 

Of all the videos that I have seen on this, I believe this one by Australian TV to be the most informative. IMHO.

 

He did not say he held the last boy's mask on. He said he had to use a different style mask that had a better seal but was easier to dislodge. Did they even watch the interview? Who writes this crap?

So they are human after all.

2 hours ago, robblok said:

I disagree, the goverment acted quite well and a capable man was put in charge. You can't expect them to have a team of cave divers ready. The seals were heroes they did more then support the foreign divers they went in before the foreign divers. They played a roll just as big and thankfully ego was not important otherwise the foreign divers would not have been allowed to help. They knew the foreign divers were better trained so they used them, that is what you do work with the best tools available.

 

If you think the divers were heroes.. your right.. but without the Thai support of pumping the water away even your hero divers would not have succeeded. Does that mean they only supported the pump people ?. Just accept it was a team effort instead of the misplaced pride that people get for the deeds of others. (cheering the foreigners just because they were foreigners)

Your post leaves me with a nagging question that I cannot answer may be you can.

  I f the foreigners would not have helped   would the Thai's been able to save the boys? If they were left to their own resources would have they succeeded

 Think about it.

Just now, lovelomsak said:

Your post leaves me with a nagging question that I cannot answer may be you can.

  I f the foreigners would not have helped   would the Thai's been able to save the boys? If they were left to their own resources would have they succeeded

 Think about it.

I am not sure about that but I do know that without the Thai pumping efforts the foreigners would also not been able to save them. So I conclude it was a team effort. All parts had to work together, take one part out and it would have failed. 

3 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

I really admire Mr Mallsion and Mr  Jewell for their honesty and putting reality into this. I cannot imagine the anquish they went  through well removing the young boys.  To be in the situations they were and doing what they did is what makes men proud to be men.. and know there are men like that among us. They are real heroes in my eyes.

Great statement just outstanding effort by them and all. People are amazing most of the time but when love comes to town well it's simply amazing thank you  (kob kuhn krub ) to all

18 minutes ago, robblok said:

I am not sure about that but I do know that without the Thai pumping efforts the foreigners would also not been able to save them. So I conclude it was a team effort. All parts had to work together, take one part out and it would have failed. 

You are right it was team effort that should never be denied. My question was If the Thai's were left to do it themselves do you think they could have done it? I think you know the answer but do not want to state it. 

   These guys saw a need and came forward and did what others could not. So to take that away from them is pretty small in my eyes.

Scary stuff. True heroes, these guys.

1 hour ago, silverhawk_usa said:

Of all the videos that I have seen on this, I believe this one by Australian TV to be the most informative. IMHO.

 

A wonderful video - thanks silverhawk_usa for bringing it to us. Explains much. 

14 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

You are right it was team effort that should never be denied. My question was If the Thai's were left to do it themselves do you think they could have done it? I think you know the answer but do not want to state it. 

   These guys saw a need and came forward and did what others could not. So to take that away from them is pretty small in my eyes.

Not taking anything away from them they are hero's but so are the others that worked to safe the kids. You did not reply to my question either.. do you think they could have done it without the pumping efforts.. I guess you would have to reply no.. just like i would have to reply no to the fact that the Thais could not have done it alone. That is why i say it was a team effort.

3 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Brave Men and have to say if it wasn't for them the Boys would not have survived.    Not enough has been done for them by the Thai Government, whilst they continue to pat themselves on the back for their own Seals, who actually only played a supporting roll !

 

But without that supporting role and the support of hundreds of other Thais both inside and outside of the cave doing all the thankless dirty jobs it most probably WOULD have been a tragedy. Not to forget that a former SEAL lost his life helping to move air bottles.

 

This is not an endorsement of the government who carefully distanced themselves in case it DID go wrong but swooped in like vultures when it was successful to claim the credit for themselves.

 

They even had sacrificial goats in the form of the former Chiang Rai governor and the farang divers to blame if it all screwed up.

Not taking away any of the bravery or heroic actions from the divers or any of the rescue crew but. It seems odd when all these Hollywood producers want to make a movie these major dramatic details start to emerge. As a diver myself and how dangerous this would be, they would have absolutely tested the masks first to make sure they fit and to acclimate the kids to wearing them. Remember they spent a lot of time training the kids how to dive. So suddenly a mask didn’t fit ?  I’m calling BS. 

The whole event was absolutely amazing. Apart from the stupid Musk outburst, everyone involved in this rescue has to be commended. It truly was one of history’s most fantastic rescues akin to Appolo 13, the Tasmanian and Chilean miner rescues. I’m sure we are going to hear much more once the dust settles.

14 minutes ago, Tradewind777 said:

It truly was one of history’s most fantastic rescues akin to Appolo 13

What?

It's unbelievable how they rescued the boys and their coach by risking their own lives.

 

   A great step forwards to give foreigners a better name. Well done, it wouldn't have been the same without the Brits. 

 

    

42 minutes ago, yougivemebaby said:

Not taking away any of the bravery or heroic actions from the divers or any of the rescue crew but. It seems odd when all these Hollywood producers want to make a movie these major dramatic details start to emerge. As a diver myself and how dangerous this would be, they would have absolutely tested the masks first to make sure they fit and to acclimate the kids to wearing them. Remember they spent a lot of time training the kids how to dive. So suddenly a mask didn’t fit ?  I’m calling BS. 

Did they spend a lot of time? There was not enough time. 

It's unbelievable how they rescued the boys and their coach by risking their own lives.
 
   A great step forwards to give foreigners a better name. Well done, it wouldn't have been the same without the Brits. 
 
    

It was a truly ‘international’ effort but its also one of the rare occasions where it makes it nice to hear good news from that funny little island.


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18 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

Did they spend a lot of time? There was not enough time. 

I have followed this story, and if I understand what happened, they had maybe two days to train them and somebody at that time told that the kids were not ready to dive, and because of the rains coming, the day after they decided to rescue the kids without waiting  , they had no time 

2 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

Your post leaves me with a nagging question that I cannot answer may be you can.

  I f the foreigners would not have helped   would the Thai's been able to save the boys? If they were left to their own resources would have they succeeded

 Think about it.

No. They would not.

 

Neither could the foreigners, alone, have remotely been able to do it.

 

Why do some posters feel a need to make this about Thai vs. foreign? Not at all what this is about.

 

This was an enormous undertaking with huge and complex logistical and technical requirements. It required:

 

• brilliant and flexible leadership on the part of the Thai authorities (including willingness to bring in outside help and listen to expert advice
• highly specialized expertise if a type that few people anywhere in the world possess
• very hard and dangerous work by scores of divers to support the work of the expert cave divers (costing the life of one of them)
• the best water pumping equipment available and heroic efforts on the part of dozens of workers to pump out the water as fast as possible. These people worked round the clock in very, very hard conditions.
• willingness of hundreds of farmers to allow their fields to be flooded
• hundreds of laborers and support personnel, who likewise worked long grueling hours in very hard conditions, most of them as volunteers, in same cases foregoing their usual livelihoods to do so

 

etc etc etc

 

The entire world came together in a spirit of unity focused solely on getting those boys out alive, without concern for nationality etc.

 

It is small minded in the extreme to view this as a "Thai vs foreigner" issue. Thankfully the Thais did not take that view. If they had, the 13 would have died.  Equally fortunate, the foreigners involved were nto focused on ego or one-up-man-ship. If they had been, they would not have succeeded. Some TV posters would do well to take a lesson from them.

 

 

An extraordinary effort by all involved. No one any better than another. It took the multi disciplined efforts of thousands to reach a successful conclusion. Postulate as you swill. And unlike the old man who's happily chosen assignment was spotlessly cleaning the on-site toilets, there's still crap being sprayed in these threads that will never cease being cleaned up.

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13 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The entire world came together in a spirit of unity focused solely on getting those boys out alive, without concern for nationality etc.

You are so right about the whole world. My family back in Canada each and every household  woulld wake up and go look at the news to see what was happening every day this event was unfolding.

16 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is small minded in the extreme to view this as a "Thai vs foreigner" issue. Thankfully the Thais did not take that view. If they had, the 13 would have died.  Equally fortunate, the foreigners involved were nto focused on ego or one-up-man-ship. If they had been, they would not have succeeded. Some TV posters would do well to take a lesson from them

Totally agree on that too. Maybe some one will he does not listen to me.