Tham Luang cave rescue

, known among Thais as the "Mountain of the Sleeping Lady". When viewed from this angle, it is said to resemble a woman lying on her back. Tham Luang Nang Non is a karstic cave complex beneath Doi Nang Non, a mountain range on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. On Saturday 23 June 2018, a group of 12 boys aged between 11 and 16, from a local junior football team named the Wild Boars, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, Ekkaphon Kanthawong, went missing after exploring the caves. According to early news reports, they planned to have a birthday party in the cave after the football practice and spent a significant sum of money on food, but they denied this in a news conference after the rescue. (no subtitles) At around 7 pm that evening, the head coach and founder of the team, Nopparat Kanthawong (), checked his phone and found about 20 missed calls from parents worried that their children had not returned. Nopparat dialled assistant coach Ekkaphon and a number of the boys, but he was unable to reach them. He eventually contacted Songpon Kanthawong, a 13-year-old member of the team who said that he had separated from the team after practice and that the rest of the boys had entered the Tham Luang caves. The coach raced to the caves, finding abandoned bicycles and bags near the entrance and water seeping from the muddy pathway. He alerted authorities to the missing group after seeing the team's unclaimed belongings. ==Team members==

There were 12 children and one adult trapped in the cave, as follows: At the time of the rescue, the assistant coach and three of the boys had no nationality. Head coach Nopparat explained that they are from tribes in an area known as the "Golden Triangle", which extends across parts of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Southwestern China. This region has no clear borders and the people are not assigned passports. Their statelessness deprived them of basic benefits and rights, including the liberty to leave Chiang Rai province. "To get nationality is the biggest hope for the boys", head coach Nopparat said. "In the past, these boys have problems travelling to play matches outside of Chiang Rai because of their nationless status." Following the team's rescue, Thai officials promised to provide the three boys and the coach with legal assistance in obtaining Thai citizenship, a process that could take up to six months. The four were granted Thai citizenship on 26 September 2018. ==Search==

British caver Vernon Unsworth, who lives in Chiang Rai and has knowledge of the cave complex, was scheduled to make a solo venture into the cave on 24 June when he received a call about the missing boys. Unsworth advised the Thai government to request assistance from the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC). On 25 June, Thai Navy SEALs divers arrived and began searching the cave. A Thai Navy SEAL said the water was so murky that even with lights they could not see where they were going underwater. followed by separate teams of open-water divers. On 28 June, a United States Air Force team—reportedly United States Air Force Pararescuemen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, the 31st Rescue Squadron, and the 353rd Special Operations Group—joined them. By 29 June, an Australian Federal Police team of Specialist Response Group divers had arrived, followed by a Chinese team of divers from the Beijing Peaceland Foundation on Sunday, 1 July. Meanwhile, policemen with sniffer dogs searched the surface above for shaft openings that could provide alternative entrances to the cave system below. Drones and robots were also used in the search, but no technology existed to scan for people deep underground. BCRC divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen advanced through the cave complex placing diving guidelines, supported by Thailand-based Belgian cave diver Ben Reymenants and French diver Maksym Polejaka. The search had to be suspended due to the weather, as rainfall increased the flow of water in the cave where the divers were battling strong currents and poor visibility. The boys and coach were on a narrow rock shelf about beyond the "Pattaya Beach" chamber, named after an above-ground beach in Thailand. Volanthen had been placing guidelines in the cave to assist others in navigation when he ran out of line. He then swam to the surface and soon found the missing group, smelling them before hearing or seeing them. The ledge where they were found is about Former Chiang Rai provincial governor , who was in charge of rescue work, said, "We found them safe. But the operation isn't over." The Thai, US, Australian and Chinese diving teams supported by the BCRC divers began transporting diving bottles into the cave system and established an air supply storage area in Chamber 3. On 3 July, the trapped group was joined by three Thai Navy SEALs who supported them until the rescue. The SEALs included Thai Army doctor Lt. Col. Pak Loharachun of the 3rd Medical Battalion, who had completed the Navy SEALs course. Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment and keeping the boys entertained and that none of those trapped were in serious condition. "They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor", Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai Navy's Special Forces, told reporters. A video made by the rescuers, and shared a few hours later by the Thai Navy SEALs, showed all twelve boys and their coach introducing themselves and stating their age. Wrapped in emergency blankets and appearing frail, they all said hello to the outside world. "Sawatdi khrap", each boy said with his palms together in wai, the traditional Thai greeting. A second video shows a medic treating them. It was believed that some of the group could not swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue. Many of the notes said they were safe, reassured family members that everything was fine, and included words of love, reassurance and encouragement. ==Planning and preparation==

A logistics camp was established at the cave entrance, which accommodated hundreds of volunteers and journalists in addition to the rescue workers. The site was divided into several zones: restricted areas for the Thai Navy SEALs, other military personnel, and civilian rescuers; an area for the relatives to give them privacy; and areas for the press and the general public. An estimated 10,000 people contributed to the rescue effort, including more than 100 divers, representatives from about 100 government agencies, 900 police officers, 2,000 soldiers and numerous volunteers. Equipment included ten police helicopters, seven police ambulances, and more than 700 diving cylinders, of which more than 500 were in the cave at any time while another 200 were in the queue to be refilled. More than a billion litres of water (the equivalent of 400 Olympic-size swimming pools) was removed. Challenges The place where the boys became stranded was about and there were some extremely narrow parts, the smallest measuring only . The journey through the cave to reach the boys took six hours against the current and five hours to exit with the current, even for experienced divers. For a time, well-meaning volunteers were inadvertently pumping water back into the groundwater supply. Helped by a spell of unseasonably dry weather, these efforts reduced water levels by per hour on 5 July, enabling the rescue teams to walk into the cave. However, heavy rains forecast for 8 July were expected to halt or reverse the process and could even flood the position where the boys and their coach were trapped. On 6 July, the oxygen level in the cave was detected to have dropped, raising fears that the boys might develop hypoxia if they remained there for a prolonged time. By 8 July, the oxygen level was measured to be 15%; the level needed to maintain normal function for humans is between 19.5% and 23.5%. Thai military engineers attempted to install an air supply line to the boys, but the effort was abandoned as impractical. • Wait until the end of the monsoon season; with divers providing food and water. • Teach the group basic diving skills. • Find an alternative entrance to the cave which could allow for an easier escape; one shaft was discovered that went down 900 metres. • Drill a rescue shaft; more than 100 shafts were bored into the limestone, but no suitable location was found. The Thai Navy SEALs and US Air Force rescue experts met with the Thai Minister of the Interior who approved the plan. However this was quietly deemed too risky and instead the boys were fully sedated and were unconscious for the journey. Organisers built a mock-up of a tight passage with chairs, and divers practised with local boys in a school swimming pool. Thai SEALs and US Air Force experts then refined the plan to use teams of divers to bring out the weakened boys. Rescue diver fatalities On 5 July, at 8:37 pm, (; born 23 December 1980), a 37-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL, made a dive from Chamber 3 to the T-junction close to Pattaya Beach to deliver three air tanks. During his return dive, he lost consciousness underwater. His dive buddy attempted CPR without success. Kunan was brought to Chamber 3 where CPR was attempted again, but he could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at about 1 am on 6 July. Formerly a member of Thai Navy SEALs class 30, Kunan had left the SEALs in 2006 at the rank of petty officer 1st class; he was working in security at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport when he volunteered to assist with the cave rescue. Another rescue diver and Thai Navy SEAL, Beirut Pakbara, died the following year from septic shock after acquiring an unspecified latent blood infection during the rescue operation. ==Rescue operation==

On the morning of 8 July, officials instructed the media and all non-essential personnel around the cave entrance to clear the area as a rescue operation was imminent, due to the threat of monsoon rains later in the week, which were expected to flood the cave until October. For the first part of the extraction, 18 rescue divers—13 international cave divers and five Thai Navy SEALs—were sent into the caves to retrieve the boys, with one "lead diver" to accompany each boy on the dive out. The international cave diving team was led by four British divers: John Volanthen, Richard Stanton, Jason Mallinson, and Chris Jewell (each assigned a boy in turn), and two Australians: Richard Harris, an anaesthetist, and his friend Craig Challen, a veterinarian. Irishman Jim Warny became an additional lead diver on the final day of the rescue to bring back assistant coach Ekkaphon, There were conflicting reports about whether the boys were rescued from the cave in a weakest-to-strongest or strongest-to-weakest order. In reality, the sequence was determined by the boys themselves. Each boy was dressed in a wetsuit, with a buoyancy aid, harness, and a positive pressure full-face mask. Harris administered the anaesthetic ketamine to the boys before the journey, rendering them "fully unconscious." They were also given the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, and the drug atropine to steady their heart rates and reduce saliva production to prevent choking. A cylinder with 80% oxygen was clipped to their front, a handle was attached to their back, and they were each tethered to a diver in case they were lost in the poor visibility. The rescue divers described each child as "a package". The Thai government granted Harris and two medical assistants diplomatic immunity against judicial action, The anaesthetic lasted between 45 minutes and one hour, requiring divers, whom Harris had trained, to administer "top-up" ketamine injections during the three-hour journey. Each boy was manoeuvred out by a swimming lead diver who held on by the back or chest—or towards his right or left side—depending on the guideline position; in narrow spots the diver could push the boy from behind. After being delivered by the divers into the staging base in Chamber 3, the boys were passed along a "daisy chain" by hundreds of rescuers stationed along the treacherous path out of the cave. Many areas from Chamber 3 to the entrance of the cave were still partially submerged and rescuers described having to transport the boys over slippery rocks and through muddy water for hours. The journey from Chamber 3 to the cave entrance had initially taken about four to five hours, but this was reduced to less than an hour after a week of draining and clearing the mud path using shovels. Shortly afterwards, two more boys exited the cave and were assessed by medical officials. Low water levels had reduced the time required for the rescues. The lower water was due to improved weather and the construction of a weir outside the cave to help control the water. On 9 July, four more boys were rescued from the cave. On 10 July, the last four boys and their coach were rescued from the cave. The rescue procedure was streamlined with practice, so the total time to extract a boy was reduced from three hours on the first day to just over two hours on the final day, allowing four boys and the coach to be rescued. The water levels in Chamber 3 started to rise, which would have cut off their access to the first two chambers and the cave entrance. A number of news outlets reported on the role of assistant coach Ekkaphon during the rescue. Previously a Buddhist monk, he had calmed the boys by guiding them in meditation during the ordeal. He also passed on a message in which he apologised for putting the children in danger. Recovery Thai authorities reported that the rescued boys were able to eat rice porridge, but more complex foods would be withheld for ten days. The Thai Health Ministry said the boys had lost an average of each, but they were in "good condition". They were placed in quarantine while health workers determined whether they had caught any infectious diseases, and they were expected to remain hospitalised for at least one week. Parents of the team members initially visited their children by looking through a window, but as soon as laboratory results proved negative, they were allowed to visit in person while wearing a medical gown, face mask and hair cap. The boys wore sunglasses as a precaution while their eyes adjusted to the daylight. Detailed tests of their eyes, nutrition, mental health and blood were carried out. A Health Ministry physician said all the boys showed an increase in white blood cells, so preventive antibiotic doses were given to the entire team. ==Responses==

Local gives thanks to the people who participated in the rescue. Residents of Chiang Rai province volunteered to cook, clean for, and otherwise support the missing team's families and the rescue teams at the encampment by the cave mouth. Local schools donated money to help the parents with living costs, as many of them stopped working in order to follow the rescue attempts. Following the death of Saman Kunan, King Vajiralongkorn announced that he would sponsor his funeral. After the rescue was completed, the boys' families, the rescue commander, military officials, and thousands of volunteers gathered at the cave entrance. The group gave thanks for the lives saved and asked forgiveness from the cave goddess "Jao Mae Tham" for the intrusion of pumps, ropes and people during the rescue. Opinions about the assistant coach Some observers, primarily in Western media, questioned whether assistant coach Ekkaphon Kanthawong should face criminal charges for leading the group into the caves, despite the warning sign at the entrance stating that it is dangerous to enter between July and November. The boys had entered the cave on 23 June. Local communities, as well as the boys' parents, emphasised that they did not blame the boys or their coach, as the rain had arrived a month earlier than usual. While the police chief told newspaper Khaosod that he "hadn't ruled out" pressing negligence charges against the coach for putting the team in danger, no calls were made to take legal action against him. A number of lawyers stated that the coach would probably not face criminal charges, since Thai law also takes into consideration whether a person has malicious intent. In mainstream media, Ekkaphon has widely been held "a hero" and was a "calm voice [that] helped boys to beat despair in the darkness." The coach was reported to have treated the boys with care, giving them his food, helping them remain calm, and instructing them to drink the relatively clean water dripping from the cave walls instead of the murky floodwaters that trapped them. When asked if Ekkaphon should be held legally responsible for negligence, Mongkhon Bunpiam, the father of 12-year-old Mongkhon, rejected the suggestion: "We would never do that… the boys love their coach… and we as parents don't want it either. Coach Eak has been good to my boy, and now I hear how he gave them hope, and kept them calm for so many days without food. I have great admiration for him." Head coach Nopparat said he would not have approved of the hike, but was confident in Ekkaphon's ability to take care of the boys. Prime Minister Prayut said that the emphasis should be on the rescue and the recovery of the team, and he asked the public to avoid a rush to judgement. International Over the course of two weeks, hundreds of volunteers, military specialists and corporate experts arrived from around the world to offer assistance in the rescue. • : Six Australian Federal Police (AFP) Specialist Response Group divers, one Navy Clearance diver, one Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) member and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Crisis Response Team officers. Up to 20 Australians were involved at the cave site. Doctor Richard Harris, an anaesthetist, was part of the medical team that determined the boys' fitness to make the journey. Harris and his diving partner, retired veterinarian Doctor Craig Challen, both cave diving specialists, played key roles in the rescue. The Thai government provided Harris with diplomatic immunity to protect him in case anything went wrong with the sedation. • : Erik Brown, a dive instructor from Vancouver, participated on the cave diving team. • : A six-man team from the volunteer rescue organisation, the Beijing Peaceland Foundation, arrived on 29 June. • : The government of the Czech Republic offered to provide a Czech manufacturer's high-performance pumps; the state has four such pumps, each with an output of 400 litres per second (1,440,000 L/h (380,000 US gal/h)). Upon inspection at the site, however, it was determined that heavy-duty pumps could not be used because of the unsuitable terrain. • : Two Danish divers participated in the cave diving team: Ivan Karadžić, who runs a diving center, and Claus Rasmussen, a diving instructor. • : Diver Maksym Polejaka assisted with the rescue efforts. • : Diver Jim Warny assisted with the rescue efforts. • : Experts from the pump manufacturer Kirloskar Brothers provided technical advice on drainage and pumps. • : Diver Rafael Aroush joined the diving team, and emergency mobile communication devices were donated by Maxtech NetWorks. • : Divers and engineers, including Shigeki Miyake, a drainage specialist from the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Thailand, assisted in efforts to pump water out of the cave. • : Drainage specialists were sent to aid water pumping efforts. • : Diver Ross Schnauer assisted with the rescue efforts. • : Ministry of Emergency Situations readied a volunteer team including a rescue specialist. • : Divers Vsevolod Korobov and Maksym Polejaka assisted with the rescue efforts. • : The British Cave Rescue Council sent eight experienced cave rescue divers, some familiar with caves in Thailand, to lead the diving team; three cave rescue personnel, as well as three cave rescue personnel and special equipment. Vernon Unsworth, a British man living in the area, was the first person with caving expertise to arrive at the site. John Volanthen and Rick Stanton discovered the boys and led the cave diving team. Chris Jewell and Jason Mallinson brought of diving equipment. Other divers involved included Connor Roe and Josh Bratchley; cave rescue personnel, Mike Clayton and Gary Mitchell, provided surface control for the divers, along with Robert Harper who had initially deployed among the first three UK divers. Tim Acton deployed as a friend of the Thai Navy SEALs. • : On 28 June, the US military's Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) deployed 36 personnel from Okinawa, including airmen from 353rd Special Operations Group and the 31st Rescue Squadron. According to Military.com, they joined seven other personnel, including a member of Joint US Military Advisory Group Thailand. Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Rob Manning said that US personnel had "staged equipment and prepared the first three chambers of the cave for safe passage. The US contingent assisted in transporting the evacuees through the final chambers of the system, and provided medical personnel and other technical assistance to the rescue efforts." Volunteers, teams and technical specialists from countries including Germany, Myanmar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine, also participated in the operation. France offered to send a team of specialists and equipment, but Thai authorities believed that adequate resources were already on site. The ordeal captured the attention of media from around the world. Over a period of three weeks, articles relating to the incident dominated the top stories section at many major news publications. Sports world at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics FIFA president Gianni Infantino invited the children and coach to attend the 2018 World Cup final (on 15 July), if circumstances allowed. However, as the entire team was hospitalised for at least a week, they were only able to watch the match on television. FC Barcelona invited the team to play in their international academy tournament in 2019 and to watch a first-team game at their home stadium, Camp Nou. England and Manchester City defender Kyle Walker offered to send football shirts to the team, having noticed that one of the rescued boys was wearing a Three Lions jersey. In October 2018, the boys travelled to the UK as guests at Old Trafford to attend a Manchester United home match against Everton in the Premier League. The boys were invited by the International Olympic Committee to the opening ceremony of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. Elon Musk On 7 July, Elon Musk stated that engineers from SpaceX and the Boring Company planned to build a "tiny, kid-sized submarine" made from the liquid oxygen transfer tube from the Falcon 9 rocket. The submarine would be light enough to be carried by two divers while being robust and small enough to fit through the narrow gaps. Later that day, Musk mentioned that construction on the submarine was complete and that it was being shipped to Thailand. Rick Stanton purportedly emailed Musk stating "It is absolutely worth continuing with the development of this system in as timely a manner as feasible. If the rain holds it out it may well be used." However, Stanton, through a spokesman, dismissed the plausibility of the submarine due to the cave being too narrow. By 9 July, Musk had arrived at the rescue site and visited Cave 3. He commented that the "mini-sub" was ready if needed and that it would be left in Thailand should it be needed for the rescue or for future events. However, the submarine was not used during the rescue. Additionally the local governor, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, stated that it was "not practical", to which Musk responded that the governor was not a subject matter expert and mentioned the previous emails by Rick Stanton. Vern Unsworth, who helped get the attention of British cave rescue divers, ridiculed the "mini-sub" as a public relations stunt and suggested in a CNN interview that Musk "stick his submarine where it hurts". In retaliation for this, Musk falsely accused Unsworth of paedophilia, and hired a private investigator in an attempt to discredit him. Musk issued a public apology to Unsworth after Unsworth unsuccessfully sued him for defamation. ==Timeline==

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ==Legacy==

When the rescue operation was concluded, the Tham Luang Nang Non cave and adjacent forest park were immediately closed to the public. Realising the massive tourism potential, the Thai authorities announced plans to turn the cave into a living museum to showcase the multinational rescue effort. The head of the rescue mission and former governor of Chiang Rai province, , predicted that the area was set to become a "major attraction for Thailand", However, Prime Minister Prayut highlighted the concerns for tourist safety and stated that the cave was "dangerous", It first went on display at Wat Rong Khun, a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai province, before being moved to a memorial pavilion near the Tham Luang cave entrance in December 2018. Saman Kunan, the former Thai Navy SEAL who died during the rescue operation, is commemorated with a twice life-size bronze statue situated in front of the memorial pavilion. Designed by renowned national artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and produced at a fine art foundry in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, the statue depicts Kunan with 13 wild boars at his feet, symbolising the 12 boys and their football coach. After the forest park was reopened on 16 November 2018, thousands of tourists flocked to the site, but they were not allowed inside the cave as work was under way on creating a living museum dedicated to the rescue. The cave was officially opened to the public 12 months later, on 1 November 2019, in an inauguration ceremony attended by monks, Thai government officials and forest rangers. This was the first time since the rescue that tourists had been allowed to enter the cave itself, At around the same time, Tham Luang was upgraded from a forest park to a national park in view of its enhanced status as a tourist hotspot. On 24 June 2023, a ceremony was held in front of the Tham Luang cave to mark the fifth anniversary of the search and rescue mission. The cave system was then reopened in phases for public access and adventure tourism. The first two chambers were opened to the public in July 2023, with large groups guided as far as Chamber 1 multiple times a day, while smaller groups could visit Chamber 2 on pre-booked guided tours. Limited tours to the third chamber, which served as the hub of the rescue operation, began in December 2023. Accompanied by licensed tour guides, small numbers of tourists can experience the obstacles encountered by the rescue teams and understand the extremely complicated rescue work that was carried out in July 2018. The area after Chamber 3 remains closed to the public, but there are plans to open it up further in the future for more experienced cavers to explore. As three of the boys and their assistant coach were stateless, officials promised that the four would be granted Thai citizenship within six months, ==Media==

Books • Aquanaut: A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue (2021) by Rick Stanton • Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives: The Thai Cave Rescue (2021) by John Volanthen • Against All Odds by Craig Challen and Richard Harris • All Thirteen – a 2020 non-fiction children's book by American author Christina Soontornvat. It received positive reviews from critics and was awarded a Newbery Honor and a Sibert Honor in 2021. • The Boys in the Cave (2018) by Matt Gutman • The Great Cave Rescue (2018) by James Massola • The Art of Risk (2023) by Richard Harris • Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team (2019) illustrated children's book by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran illustrated by Dow Phumiruk Film and television • 2018: Against The Elements: Tham Luang Cave Rescue, a documentary with exclusive interviews, produced by Channel News Asia in Singapore. • 2018: Thai Cave Rescue, an episode of science television series Nova (season 45, episode 14). • 2019: The Cave, a feature film written and directed by Thai-Irish filmmaker Tom Waller. Features many of the real-life cave divers as themselves. • 2019: Thai Cave Rescue, an episode of the National Geographic television series Drain the Oceans (season 2, episode 12). Unveils post-rescue lidar scans of the cave topology. • 2019: 13 Lost: The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue • 2021: The Rescue, a National Geographic documentary released on 8 October 2021. Makes use of body-cam footage recorded by the divers involved in the operation. Filming began in Queensland, Australia in March 2021. • 2022: Thai Cave Rescue, a Netflix limited series released on 22 September 2022. The only dramatic production granted access to members of the Wild Boars. • 2022: The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave, a Netflix documentary released on 5 October 2022. Features interviews with selected members of the Wild Boars team. Song A song about the rescue, "Heroes of Thailand" was written on 16 July 2018 by British music producer Will Robinson, with English and North Thailand dialect lyrics and was performed by the Isan Project featuring Ronnarong Khampha. ==Awards==

• : On 24 July 2018, the Governor-General of Australia awarded the Bravery Medal to the six AFP Special Response Group divers and the Navy Clearance diver who supported the diving operation in the cave for "having displayed considerable bravery". Dr. Richard Harris and Craig Challen were awarded the Star of Courage for "having displayed conspicuous courage". All nine were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to the international community through their specialist response roles". On 25 January 2019, Challen and Harris were named Australians of the Year. • : On 22 November 2018, Belgian diver Jim Warny was made a Knight of the Order of Leopold for his rescue efforts. • : On 18 July 2018, the Thai Ambassador to Beijing hosted a luncheon for the Beijing Peaceland Foundation and Green Boat Emergency Rescue organisation. • : • On 13 July 2018, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, in a letter of commendation, posthumously promoted former Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, who had died on 6 July, to Lieutenant Commander, and on 14 July, King Vajiralongkorn awarded him with the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant. RADM Youkongkaew had commanded the overall activities of all divers during the operation and CAPT Surawan had commanded the operational center in Chamber 3. The official list of recipients of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn for the Tham Luang cave rescue was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 21 March 2019. • : • On 24 July 2018, British prime minister Theresa May hosted a reception at 10 Downing Street with the Thai Ambassador for the British Cave Rescue Council divers and personnel involved in the rescue. • In November 2018, the Pride of Britain 2018 award was presented to the British cave rescue team for "Outstanding Bravery". The rescued children attended the award ceremony in London. • On 28 December 2018, seven British members of the rescue team were honoured in the 2019 New Year Honours. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen each received the George Medal; Chris Jewell and Jason Mallinson received the Queen's Gallantry Medal; and Josh Bratchley, Connor Roe and Vern Unsworth were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). • International: • British and Australian divers, Stanton, Volanthen, Harris, Mallinson and Jewell were the first ever recipients of the Medal of Valor from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), an international diver training organization. • On 5 January 2019, the Asian Football Federation awarded the Wild Boars a two-year support program, providing the club with technical support, training equipment and 100 Molten match balls a year. Three of the boys and their coach were invited as guests of honour to watch the match between Thailand and India at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates on 6 January 2019. ==References==