ClueTrail
Uncovering forgotten cases, chilling mysteries, and overlooked truths from around the world. From hidden histories to modern investigations and unsettling disappearances, each episode follows the clues...wherever they lead.
ClueTrail
Into the Dark: The Thai Cave Rescue
Darkness. Floodwaters. A mountain closing in around them. When twelve young Thai soccer players and their coach entered Tham Luang Cave after practice, none imagined they would spend the next eighteen days trapped in its depths, becoming the focus of one of history's most complex rescue operations.
What followed was a rescue so audacious it seemed impossible on paper – sedating each boy, fitting them with full-face masks, and guiding their unconscious bodies through underwater passages barely wider than a human torso. This unprecedented operation required extraordinary courage, sacrifice, and innovation, claiming the lives of two rescuers while ultimately saving all thirteen trapped individuals. Beyond the dramatic underwater extraction, the Thai Cave Rescue revealed humanity's remarkable capacity for collaboration across borders, languages, and expertise. More than 10,000 people – from cave diving specialists and medical professionals to local farmers who sacrificed their crops – united with a single purpose: bringing these boys home. Their story reminds us that even in our most harrowing moments, when hope seems lost in darkness, the combined will of humanity can create miracles.
Listen now to experience the complete, remarkable journey of the Thai Cave Rescue – a testament to human endurance, ingenuity, and our capacity to accomplish the impossible when lives hang in the balance.
Welcome to Clue Trail, where true stories unravel one step at a time, from crimes and colds to survival stories and the downright strange. We follow the twists that lead to the truth. If you're enjoying the show, check out Patreon for bonus episodes and early access. Just search ClueTrail or hit the link in the show notes. And don't forget to follow, rate or review the podcast. It helps more curious minds find us. Now let's dive into today's case.
Speaker 1:On June 23rd 2018, 12 boys and their football coach disappeared into a cave in northern Thailand. Into a cave in northern Thailand. What started as a quick post-practice adventure turned into an international crisis, one that would grip the world for more than two weeks, trapped in total darkness, deep underground, with monsoon rains flooding the cave behind them. Their fate seemed sealed, but what followed was a rescue so daring, so complex it felt like something out of fiction. This isn't a story of crime, but of survival, teamwork and sacrifice. This is the Thai Cave Rescue.
Speaker 1:It was a Saturday afternoon and the Wild Boars football team had just finished practice. The boys were in high spirits it was one of their teammates' birthday. Before the celebration, they hopped on their bikes and rode towards the entrance of Tam Luang Cave for a bit of exploring. Tam Luang, or the Cave of the Sleeping Lady, is a sprawling limestone cave system beneath a mountain range near the Myanmar border. It stretches over 10 kilometers. During the dry season it's safe to explore, but when the monsoon rain arrives, explore, but when the monsoon rain arrives, the passages feel like a submerged labyrinth.
Speaker 1:For the boys, visiting the cave was kind of a ritual After football practice. They'd bike out together, venture deep inside and write their names on the wall at the end of the tunnel. Write their names on the wall at the end of the tunnel. They arrived late in the afternoon, still in their football gear. Led by their assistant coach, they parked their bikes just outside the cave entrance, kicked off their shoes and stepped inside. It wasn't meant to be a serious adventure. They didn't bring any food or spare clothes, just a few flashlights and each other. The plan was simple Hike through the cave, sign the back wall and be home in time for dinner. Unbeknownst to the boys, rain had begun to fall hard miles away in the surrounding hills. As they wandered deeper in the cave, water surged in through the rear tunnels, cutting off their exit behind them. They were now trapped nearly four kilometres inside and no one outside had any idea where they were.
Speaker 1:That evening, when the boys didn't come home, their parents grew anxious and by nightfall a search party had formed. Park rangers, police and the family members arrived, and there, at the cave entrance, they found the boys' bikes, neatly parked. That was the moment it hit everyone. This wasn't just a delay the boys were missing.
Speaker 1:By the next morning, the area around the cave had turned into a command post. Rescue teams began arriving, first local officials, then the Thai Navy SEALs. But even for them, tam Luang was a different kind of monster. Inside, the divers faced freezing water, razor-sharp rocks and twisted tunnels barely wider than their shoulders. Progress was agonizingly slow, and outside, the world was starting to take notice. The media descended. Cameras from CNN, bbc and Thai television all pointed at the cave. This story was spreading fast. Twelve boys and their coach trapped. No word and the clock ticking. And so a national emergency was declared.
Speaker 1:And whilst the SEALs were working inside to reach the boys, thai authorities scrambled to control the one thing, threatening everything the water Giant. Industrial pumps were brought in to push thousands of litters out of the cave. Running day and night, volunteers dug trenches. Local farmers sacrificed their crops to divert flood water away. But it was a losing battle. The monsoon rains kept coming and the cave just kept filling Every minute. The window to save the boys was shrinking.
Speaker 1:And then help began to arrive from far beyond Thailand. Everyone watching wanted to do something. An elite US military team flew in, chinese engineers brought industrial-grade water pumps, australian medical divers. It had become an international mission, a race against rising water, falling oxygen and time. The world was now working together to bring the boys home, and amongst them there were two British cave diving specialists, rick Stanton and John Volanton. In the dangerous, highly niche world of cave diving, these two were legends. For the next week, all these international teams worked together with the Thai authorities, navigating maps, probing sinkholes, even drilling into the mountain above. Still no one knew if the boys were alive.
Speaker 1:Ten days passed now and still no signs of the boys and no way to reach the deeper chambers of the cave. But that was until John and Rick, the two British divers, pushed farther than anyone had gone before, navigating peach black water, clinging to a thin rope line. They surfaced into a narrow air pocket nearly four kilometers in sight, and there they were all 12 boys and their coach, alive. They were thin and cold and huddled together on a muddy ledge, but alive. Everyone, from families to the world-watching, felt a sigh of relief, but only for a moment, because finding them was only the beginning. Getting them out, that would be the real miracle.
Speaker 1:It was day 10 of the rescue mission when the boys and their coach were found. Footage from John Helmut's camera flashed across screens everywhere 13 faces, gaunt, pale, caked in mud, but smiling. They had survived in total darkness, drinking water that dripped from the cave walls and meditating, a skill that their coach had learned during his years as a Buddhist monk. They hadn't eaten in ten days. Some were showing early signs of infection, and the ledge they clung to, now known as Pattaya Beach, was slowly disappearing as the floodwaters kept rising.
Speaker 1:The joy of discovery now gave way to the terrifying realization that this wasn't just a rescue, it was a medical evacuation Through four kilometers of narrow submerged rock with zero visibility and deadly turns. Most of the boys couldn't swim, none had ever worn diving gear and parts of the route were so tight. Even experienced adult divers had to remove their tanks to squeeze through. Rick Stanton later recalled this wasn't just hard, it was impossible unless we did something unthinkable. Engineers and authorities scrambled for other options. Maybe the water could be pumped out, could a shaft be drilled from above? But every idea hit a wall and time was running out, as inside the boys' chamber, oxygen had already dropped to just 15%, and that was dangerously low. And the monsoon rains, although stopping for now, they were forecast to return in three days, threatening to seal the cave forever.
Speaker 1:The situation was dire. Then came the rescue plan. It was radical and a last desperate attempt. The situation was dire. Then came the rescue plan. It was radical and a last desperate attempt. They would sedate the boys, mask them, strap them in and guide them unconscious through the flooded tunnels, one at a time. The risks were staggering. All we'd take was one single mistake, a leak, a child waking up, and they could drown within minutes.
Speaker 1:And whilst all the logistics of this incredibly dangerous plan were being debated, tragedy hit. The cave claimed its first victim. During a routine supply mission, saman Kunan, a former Thai Navy SEAL, lost consciousness underwater whilst placing oxygen tanks. He died inside the cave. He was a hero who gave his life bringing life-saving air to the trapped boys. But still the mission had to go forward. There was no other way. This plan was so controversial and risky. Some called it a complete madness, but for the rescuers inside Tam Luang Cave, it was the only shot they had. It was the only shot they had, brickstunton later recalled.
Speaker 1:The plan was as following Each boy would be fully sedated to prevent panic underwater. This was to be administered by Dr Richard Harris, the Australian cave diver and anesthetist, which flown in to help early in the rescue mission. The boys would be unconscious, breathing through full-face masks placed in stretchers and wrapped in waterproof rescue sleds designed to keep them secure, warm and afloat during this dangerous extraction. Then each rescue diver was assigned a buoy. They'd swim side by side, navigating submerged corridors just wide enough for one single person at a time.
Speaker 1:Before the rescue began, the teams spent days rehearsing. They laid oxygen tanks every 25 meters, pumped out water relentlessly, gaining precious centimeters, and stabilized each boy with IV, nutrition and antibiotics. But pressure was mounting due to the weather forecast. They had to take the only window available Three days to save 13 lives, july 8, 2018. Day one of the rescue operation, the divers were ready. The sedation protocol had been rehearsed, debated and refined. Each boy would receive a precise dose of ketamine, strong enough to keep them fully unconscious for the entire journey, which would be anywhere between 3 to 5 hours, but carefully monitored to avoid respiratory failure. Each child was dressed in a wetsuit, masked, hands bound gently to prevent panic-induced movement. If they awoke underwater, then a diver would guide each one by holding their air tank and harness. Another diver would follow behind, watching for any signs of distress, and so with all that in place, the first boy disappeared into the black water.
Speaker 1:Hours passed, then a voice over the radio One out. Their rescue plan worked. By the end of day one, four boys had been successfully extracted from the cave. They were cold and groggy, but alive. The world cheered, but no one relaxed. There were still nine people inside. The world cheered, but no one relaxed. There were still nine people inside and the monsoon clock was still ticking.
Speaker 1:On day two, july 9th, with four boys already rescued, the dive team regrouped. The conditions inside the cave remained treacherous Narrow tunnels, strong currents, zero visibility. But the system had worked the boys inside. By now they knew what was coming. They had seen their friends leave unconscious, unmoving, zipped into stretchers. Now it was their turn. One by one, the divers sedated and secured the next group of boys. Each child was masked, wrapped and carefully guided through the same twisting, flooded gauntlet, through choke points, over rock formations, up and out. By the end of day two, four more boys had made it out, eight now safe, five still inside.
Speaker 1:It was then day three. This was it, the final push. The last four boys and their coach were still deep in the cave. Rescuers knew that if they didn't finish today, the cave might flood again, cutting them off completely. So the divers had to move quickly but carefully. The weather held so far, but the pressure was immense. The weather held so far, but the pressure was immense. Then, across the day, radio chatter crackled through the command centre Ninth is out, tenth is out, eleven, twelve and finally another voice came through the coach is out.
Speaker 1:All 13 were out 18 days after they entered the cave. They were all alive and as the last team of divers surfaced, cheers echoed across the mountain. The rescue mission was now complete. It was a miracle of logistics, engineering and human will. Behind the scenes, physical and emotional scars remained. The boys would remain hospitalized for over a week. Most were malnourished, some had infections. They had not seen daylight for over 17 days, and two of their rescuers had paid the ultimate price. Saman Kunan, the former Thai Navy SEAL who died placing air tanks, was mourned as a national hero. And nearly a year later another rescuer, petty Officer Beirut Pakbara, died from a blood infection he contracted during the mission. Two lives lost and 13 saved.
Speaker 1:The Wild Boars became international guests, meeting world leaders, appearing in documentaries and later portrayed in films like the Rescue and 13 Lives. Coach Ekapol was praised for keeping the boys calm, using meditation to lower their heart rates and conserve oxygen. Dr Richard Harris, who risked everything to sedate his children, was named Australian of the Year. Rick Stanton and John Valentin, the divers who first found the boys, were hailed as legends of their field. But it wasn't just the survival that stunned the world, it was the collaboration.
Speaker 1:More than 10,000 people played a part in the rescue Thai Navy SEALs, international cave divers, doctors, engineers, geologists, volunteers, people from across the globe, many of whom had never met. They all worked together for one goal Bring the boys home. Tam Luang Cave was later transformed into a national park and memorial, a place to remember not just what was lost but what was possible, because in the darkest place, imaginable hope found a way in. Thank you for listening to Clue Trail. We'll be back soon with more true stories that unravel, one step at a time. Until next time, stay safe and stay curious. Thank you.