Thai cave boys speak to media for first time
July 18, 2018
The 12 young members of a Thai football team who were rescued after spending more than two weeks in a flooded Thailand cave complex spoke to the press about their ordeal for the first time on Wednesday.
Speaking at a conference broadcast on the government's "Thailand Moves Forward" television program, the boys answered carefully vetted questions submitted by journalists in advance.
Read more: Thai cave rescue: Hollywood hype won't help the boys
The team, smiling and wearing matching jerseys, described what happened and how they felt when rescue divers first found them.
'A miracle'
"It was a miracle, I was shocked ... At the time, my brain was very slow, we had been in the cave for 10 days, I didn't know what to say," 14-year-old Adul Sam-on told the press conference.
The team said they had no food in the cave but found some drinkable water and that they "stayed still to conserve energy."
"I believed we could find a way out," one team member said when asked how he felt at the time,
Another boy said he was scared he would "get told off by my mum" when he got home.
Boys tried to dig way out
The team's coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, explained how they used a rope to communicate with each other while some of the group tried to find a way out. When they could not, the boys said they tried to dig their way out, and managed to go about three meters.
"We tried to dig out as we thought, we cannot only wait for authorities to get us," the coach said.
The team presented a framed portrait of 37-year-old Saman Gunan, the former Thai navy SEAL who died while placing oxygen canisters for the boys along a potential exit route. The picture was surrounded by personal messages of appreciation written by the team.
Medical professionals in attendance said the boys were all healthy and that the team had done "confidence building exercises" during their last night in hospital in preparation for the conference. They were to return home to their families on Wednesday evening.
The 12 boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old football coach became trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex on June 23 after the way out was cut off by floodwaters.
Read more: Opinion: The Thai cave rescue and our longing for clarity
An international rescue team retrieved the group in a risky three-stage operation that required days of preparation, including teaching the boys to use diving equipment.
Families advised to avoid media
Doctors have advised the players' families to avoid letting them contact journalists for at least one month.
"The reason to hold this evening press conference is so media can ask them questions and after that they can go back to live their normal lives without media bothering them," Thailand's chief government spokesman, Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, told French news agency AFP.
Thai leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha had urged media prior to the press conference to be "cautious in asking unimportant questions" that may cause damage.
Doctors and psychologists attended the conference to filter questions and ensure the boys' well-being.
There are already plans to turn the cave into a museum and film production houses have shown interest in turning the boys' stories into a film. As a result, the team's relationship with the press looks set to continue.
Also on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk apologized for using a derogatory term against a British cave diver who assisted with the rescue in a social media attack. The diver had ridiculed a plan spearheaded by Musk to use a miniature submarine recover the team.
law/kms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)