THE RESCUE
National Geographic is releasing a documentary about the Thai cave rescue, appropriately titled The Rescue, and here explorer extraordinaire Jill Heinerth gives her opinion on the film Photographs courtesy of National Geographic
I
n the summer of 2018, the world watched as one of the most unlikely and heroic rescues of all time unfolded in the rainy jungles of Thailand. Although few are unaware of the outcome of the rescue, most viewers will be shocked by the close calls, logistics and fortunate circumstances that made the mission a success. On 26 October, National Geographic has a special theatrical release of their new documentary film, The Rescue. Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film has already won The People’s Choice Award for Documentaries at the Toronto International Film Festival. Telling a story this complex is challenging, but the filmmakers got it right. I was riveted with the re-enactments and surprised that so much real-time coverage was available for the edit. Significantly, I was relieved that the filmmakers did their due diligence to celebrate the reported 10,000 people that came together to save the team. The film focuses on the diving team, featuring the hairy logistics of finding and then evacuating the children from what might have been their tomb almost 4km from the cave entrance.
On 23 June, 12 young ‘Wild Boars’ footballers between the ages of 11 and 16 entered the cave with their coach Ekkaphon Chanthawong after practice. The cave beneath the ‘Mountain of the Sleeping Lady’ was a favourite playground for the soccer team and other local kids. On this day, the kids dropped their bicycles at the entrance and headed into the gaping maw of Tham Luang Nang Cave. The network of passages is over 10km long, with twisting tunnels that thread beneath the Doi Nang Non mountain range. Although seasonal flooding causes closure of the cave each year, on this day, nobody was concerned. The rainy season was still a month away. As night fell, parents started to get worried that the kids had not returned from practice and the word went out to local authorities. British caver Vern Unsworth, a resident of Thailand, was one of the first to respond to the call. He planned cave mapping efforts that day and was surprised to learn it was flooding. Unsworth knew that they had to act quickly. He advised the Thai government about the dangers of the situation, leading them to bring in the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) and Thai Navy SEALs.
John Volanthen in full cave-dive regalia
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