Ireland

We're not heroes, we just used a unique skill set, say Thailand rescue divers

THE divers who helped to save 12 schoolboys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand have been playing down their heroics.

Jim Warny from Co Clare was among seven divers from Ireland and Britain involved in the rescue operation who returned home yesterday.

They joined the mission after the football team became trapped in an underground network in Chiang Rai province following monsoon rains.

Retired fireman Rick Stanton from Coventry and his colleague, John Volanthen from Bristol, were the first divers to reach the stranded group in the Luang Nang Non Cave.

They then launched a mission to rescue the boys and their 25-year-old coach, which concluded on Tuesday after an 18-day ordeal.

The operation claimed the life of Thai navy diver Saman Kunan, who died while replenishing oxygen canisters.

The rescue was particularly treacherous because the boys, aged 11 to 16, had to swim through tight spaces despite having no previous diving experience.

Mr Warny travelled to Thailand following a request from the government there for international expertise to assist in the rescue effort.

A member of the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation, he arrived back in Shannon Airport yesterday.

The Belgian-born diver has been living in Ireland for 15 years.

After being greeted by his father and fiancée, he entered to arrivals area to rapturous applause.

Mr Warny said he was fortunate to be able to help in the rescue effort adding it was a "miracle" that a combined international effort resulted in all the boys being rescued.

The boys, he said, were the true heroes.

Speaking on his return to the UK, Mr Stanton said: "Are we heroes? No, we were just using a very unique skill set, which we normally use for our own interests and sometimes we are able to use that and give something back to the community.

"This was completely uncharted, unprecedented territory and nothing like this has been done. So, of course there were doubts.

"I knew that we had a good team, with good support from the Thai authorities, the caving community and rescue organisations, so we had the best we could do to make a plan work."

During a press conference at Heathrow Airport, Mr Stanton declined to answer any medical questions but said: "They were carefully handled.

"There is a lot of responsibility, that is all I am prepared to say ... There is a lot of responsibility that an experienced diver could handle."