It was totally our own fault.". Stewart Cook/Shutterstock Rick Stanton with 'Thirteen Lives' star Viggo Mortensen.. Mr. "I got to that narrow place, where that first diver got stuck, and I had to decide what to do," he recalls. John has been involved in exploring and mapping caves throughout the world, including the UK, Europe, and Malaysia. The filing also says Mr Unsworth is seeking "punitive damages" as well as the compensation, "to punish him for his wrongdoing and deter him from repeating such heinous conduct". As for the rest of the boys, now-adults Ekkarat Biw Wongsukchan and Tee are still dedicated to soccer, Prachak Note Sutham is leading a good life alongside his girlfriend, and the engaged-to-be-married Phiphat Nick Phothi serves as a rescue center worker. To Gronqvist's horror, his friend died in front of his eyes - but getting agitated would put Gronqvist himself at risk of hypercapnia. He never married and has dedicated his life to cave-diving, in which he has become one of the most accomplished people in the world. At the end of the Plurdalen valley in central Norway a 35m-wide river rises abruptly out of the ground. In June 2018, the world held its breath for 18 days as a group of elite cave divers risked everything to rescue 12 boys and their coach from an underwater cave in Northern Thailand. The boys, who were all members of a soccer team, had gone into a long, winding underground cave with their coach to celebrate one of the boy's birthdays. "I decided to go forward, and that was a very good decision for me. Looking upset, he explains in the film that he slept badly and is simply not in the right frame of mind for the operation. "My options were to try to pass that dead diver, or to turn around and try to do a very long dive back, go back to the deepest section and try to survive to the surface. The Plura caves are now open once again. Cave divers use "rebreathers" which artificially absorb the carbon dioxide they exhale, but these can become overloaded if the divers start breathing quickly, and at depth it is more difficult for them to control their breathing. Thats where he carefully builds his skills, serves part-time at the Specialist Anaesthetic Service Medical Center, and works to expand his prospects as a public speaker and beyond. Unsworth will not do interviews, Wood said, but the attorney said in a statement that Musks wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law., Unsworths British lawyer, Mark Stephens, said that Twibels (Twitter libels) show that falsehoods by the rich and powerful can circulate round the globe to their 22.5 million followers and to the media before the truth can pull its boots on.. A British diver who helped to save 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has insisted he was not a hero. Holding your breath through Vasarhelyi and Chins harrowing climax, its impossible not to think of all the people who might still be alive today if more of us could recognize that obligation when it called. "Musk's influence and wealth cannot convert his lies into truth or protect him from accountability for his wrongdoing in a court of law," Mr Unsworth's US attorney, L Lin Wood, said. All of this makes for anther super entertaining multiplex documentary that has crossover potential written all over it (all the way down to the truly wretched inspirational song that plays over the closing credits in a transparent Oscar bid), but The Rescue doesnt let its action movie urgency interfere with the seriousness of whats at stake. He recommended that the Thai government seek help from divers in the United Kingdom, and Unsworth called friend and fellow diver Rob Harper. Later Musk deleted the tweets and apologized after being criticized by shareholders, the lawsuit alleged, stating in a tweet that his words were spoken in anger and that the sub was built out of kindness according to specifications from the dive team leader. The fifth and final diver, Kai Kankanen, tried unsuccessfully to come to Uusimaki's aid. Rick Stanton, from Coventry, Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. A British diver who helped rescue soccer players trapped in a Thai cave is suing Musk, alleging that the Tesla CEO falsely accused him of being a pedophile. By the time he reached Plura, he had to break a thin layer of ice to climb out of the water. It was another six months before the group was told that they would face no charges for their illegal dive. The only alternative was to perform the traverse from Plura all over again, and thus gain access to the victims from the other side. Mr Unsworth told CNN that the submarine was "just a PR stunt [that] had absolutely no chance of working" and said Mr Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts". A British diver who helped to save 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has insisted he was not a hero. The moment you see the people who answer it, youll know why this ordeal had to be made into a movie. The authorities said it was too dangerous to retrieve their bodies, but four friends of the men decided to take the risk - and seven weeks later they descended into the dark and glacial waters. "It's a code that no-one is left behind," he says. In fact, not only does he continue to be an active diving member of the Cave Rescue Organisation, but he has also served as a consultant on projects related to the Thai case. At last, though, both victims were lifted up to Steinugleflaget, where they were placed in body bags Gronqvist had taken from his fire station. The whole operation had taken 101 hours of diving time. Thats because they stepped into this Thailand under-mountain system in relatively calm weather, only for swift heavy rains to trap them inside for 18 days, as charted in Amazon Primes Thirteen Lives. It thus took intense international efforts to ensure their safe rescue so now that its been a while, if you wish to learn more about what all the key people are up to these days, weve got you covered. Stanton says that he and his fellow divers considered it, and decided it was too risky. Cave divers the world over need to have remarkable self-command, but Diving into the Unknown can be seen as a study in a character trait beloved of Finns - sisu, grit in the face of adversity. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court Monday seeks more than $75,000 in damages and a court order stopping Musk from making further allegations. He also knew that at some point the second group of divers would find Huotarinen's body blocking their way. Having explored underwater caves for decades, John relates lessons in risk management, problem solving and teamwork to a worldwide business audience. Like his fellow British divers, Chris Jewell is a recipient of the Queens Gallantry Medal, yet unlike them, he has also been honored with the first-ever Medal of Valor by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. At the time of the accident he was teaching a diving course in Mexico. Rick Stanton, left, and John Volanthen had been cave diving together for decades before being called upon to help with the Thai rescue. Mortensen becomes Rick Stanton, one of the worlds greatest cave divers, a man who feels the hefty yoke of moral obligation and the burden of responsibility to save The first amendment of the United States Constitution which protects free speech makes defamation a challenging legal action to bring. Retired firefighter Rick Stanton is an almost 60-year-old British man who vaguely resembles the Hound from Game of Thrones, and seems to possess equivalent social graces. Then they spent a day setting up equipment, leaving 50 cylinders of gas along the route and, on the Plura side, an underwater habitat. The phrase "kaveria ei jateta" - "never leave a friend behind" - was used by Finnish soldiers, who put themselves in grave danger to recover the bodies of fallen comrades during the Winter War against the USSR in 1939-1940. You wouldnt believe the particulars if I told you, but the film so vividly conveys why such a cockamamie scheme was necessary that you cant help but go along with it in the moment. Where is Water Engineer Thanet Natisri Now. But if you want to know the Brits entire personal account of the rescue, you can read it in his nail-biting May 2021 book Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives: The Thai Cave.. But then again, we have the best knowledge of the place, we are the original explorers of the place, we know the place like our own pockets.". Would they become upset and breathe more quickly, or make a silly mistake that could lead to another tragedy? While most amateur divers might restrict themselves to dives of between 30 minutes and an hour, at a depth of 30m or so, the trip to Steinugleflaget would be a five-hour dive, with the aid of underwater scooters, to depths of more than 130m. "And I am not afraid of the cave. It's well known that some of the world's most challenging peaks are dotted with the remains of mountaineers whose bodies could not be safely retrieved. But it was British cave diver John Volanthen and his partner, Rick Stanton, who were first to reach the stranded team and who played a key role in their ultimate rescue. However, the toughest hurdle is that if the person bringing the case is regarded as a public figure - and 'public figure' is given a pretty wide interpretation - it has to be proved that the defendant acted maliciously. Diving hobbyists can climb out of the water here to admire the grotto, before returning to Plura. Because he began to run low on gas he was forced to surface 80 minutes early. The following day Gronqvist and Paakkarinen returned to retrieve Jari Uusimaki's body, assisted at depth by another diver, Jani Santala. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. As an anesthesia specialist as well as an experienced cave diver, Dr. Richard Harry Harris is arguably the one individual whose expertise led to the Wild Boars soccer teams successful rescue. The Plura caves, a still from the recent documentary Diving into the Unknown, Vesa Rantanen, who was 33 in 2014, has been cave diving since 2007, Sami Paakkarinen, who was 34 in 2014, has been cave diving since 2004, The dazzling beauty of the long air chamber near Plura, where Paakkarinen and a group enjoyed a picnic last year. 2023 BBC. Rantanen later found out that while he had been struggling to pass Huotarinen's body, the diver behind him, Jari Uusimaki, was also running into difficulties. While some of the performers already had diving experience, Stanton notes "our equipment is very unusual and esoteric how to use that, how to The hero British diver who rescued 12 Thai boys and their football coach from a flooded cave is dating a local nurse, MailOnline can reveal. However, this incident is nothing but bittersweet for him because he learned his father passed away shortly after the mission came to a positive close on July 10, 2018. 2023 BBC. The three survivors were all hospitalised with decompression sickness. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Two hours later, after the sediment raised by the first divers had been allowed to settle, three of their friends followed behind. There is also the possibility of equipment failure, and hypercapnia - carbon dioxide poisoning. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. British cave divers Richard Stanton (2nd-L), Robert Charles Harper (3rd John Volanthen is a world record-holding British cave diver who has been at the forefront of underground rescue and exploration over the last two decades. Read More: Where is Water Engineer Thanet Natisri Now? Read about our approach to external linking. "When you wake up and you see that there are 10 missed calls and 10 messages on the phone, you know immediately that something is wrong," he says. Stanton is on [] 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. Described as the A Team of diving rescues by the British Cave Rescue Council, he also planned and participated in the childrens rescue. Stanton usually cave dives and conducts rescues with a partner, John Volanthen. This was a communal effort on a global scale, and while the size of the films ensemble cast forces The Rescue to make some unfortunate concessions along the way (the Thai perspective is sorely lacking from a story that never sheds its foreigners POV), the teamwork required to pull off this miracle is powerful tribute to what people are capable of when they put their minds together and feel personally responsible for solving a problem. He soon discovered his friends had all had the same idea. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. All content John Volanthen 2019 | Website by, United Kingdom and Commonwealth, George Medal, National Geographic Adventurer of the year. The divers head towards the site of the accident, Sami Paakkarinen calls the Norwegian authorities to inform them of the illegal rescue, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Equipped with a dry sense of humour and a passing physical resemblance to Hollywood tough guy Vin Diesel, Paakkarinen had been diving longer than any of the others. Photographs courtesy of RICK STANTON To view this content choose accept and continue. He isnt happy unless hes swimming around a claustrophobic hellscape and exploring some of the only alien terrain left on Earth. From what we can tell, a majority of the rescuees still reside in their native province of Chiang Rai in Thailand, where they continue to devote themselves to the sport as well as their education. The truth has now got its boots on and Elon Musk is being brought to account for repeatedly attacking and taunting the good name of an ordinary spelunker: Vernon Unsworth who answered the call and (with others) put his life on the line to help rescue the 13 trapped in the caves in Thailand, he said. The device wasnt used and in the interview, Unsworth called it a PR stunt and said it wouldnt have worked to free the boys who were trapped in the flooded cave. Why was Elon Musk at the Thai cave rescue? Mr. Unsworth has never engaged in an act of pedophilia. It's Me, Margaret' to 'R.M.N. On the other hand, we have Adul Dul Samon, the only English speaker of the trapped 13 and hence the one to communicate with the initial rescue group, who has since made his way to the US. The crazy-like-a-fox genius that Harris brings to the table is a microcosm of a rescue effort that was only feasible because of the multitude of people involved, and Vasarhelyi and Chin are sure to linger on the growing swell of soldiers and other volunteers who show up to lend a hand. As was the custom of the group, no-one was in overall command, but the first diver to set off was Patrik Gronqvist, one of a trio of Finns who had discovered the passage between the caves the year before. He was But Paakkarinen says that leaving bodies in the Norwegian cave would have been like leaving victims of a car crash by the side of the road. And our white bread heroes who, similar to Free Solo protagonist Alex Honnold, have trouble communicating with other people as it is find themselves lost in translation between the Royal Thai Navy and the U.S. Special Forces whove shown up for some extra muscle. (National Geographic) But when they dived down to survey the site of Huotarinen's accident, they discovered that he could not be readily freed from the Steinugleflaget side, and he blocked access to the second victim, Uusimaki. He eventually met up with Gronqvist, but Rantanen's struggle to pass Huotarinen's body had added three hours to his decompression time. The two divers were welcomed at Chiang Rai airport with a banner that read: The Worlds Best Cave Divers. Volanthen and his diving partner, Rick Stanton who together held the record for diving the greatest depth in a British cave, 76m offered their services. "This incident happened, and then they've made a film and they all come out as heroes," he says. The kids are already stuck (and possibly already dead), the Thai Navy SEALs trained only in open-water diving are thwarted by a drowned labyrinth of mud and darkness at every turn, and how to reach the inner cavities of the cave system is an open question posed to the rest of the planet. Finns also have a proud history of going to great lengths to retrieve the bodies of deceased friends. Rick Stanton got an MBE for years of service. Unfortunately, we couldnt find any concrete details on Nattawut Tle Takamrong (then 14) or Phiraphat Night Somphiangchai (who celebrated his 17th birthday in the cave). He also said Musk can stick his submarine somewhere where it hurts., The lawsuit alleges that Musk, apparently angered by Unsworths remarks, began a campaign to destroy his reputation by publishing false and heinous accusations of criminality against him to the public., In a series of tweets July 15, Musk, who personally delivered the submarine to the cave, wrote that he never saw Unsworth and challenged him to show a video of the final rescue. The Film Industry Lost Some Titans This Year What Happens Now? For this reason, Paakkarinen says they tried to process "all the emotional stuff" in the month leading up to the rescue, so that when the time came they could focus on the task in hand, working almost like robots. on March 16, 2022. at 11:55 am. This is a pocket of air that divers can use during decompression stops, allowing them to get out of the cold water, remove their masks and even eat. Later on Twitter, Musk wrote Bet ya a signed dollar its true.. Crucially however, Vasarhelyi and Chin also know their limits. Thanks to the rescue team cameras, viewers will see the first time the divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthan emerged from the cave having found the boys as well We should mention Somphong Pong Jaiwong (of the same age group), in particular, is currently enrolled at Chiang Mai Technical College in the Si Phum sub-district, a cultural hub. But since leaving high school in the 1980s, hed quietly established himself as the pre Scuba Diver chats to cave-diving legend Rick Stanton, and finds out what lured him underground in the first place, The trip was at the extreme end of a dangerous sport. An email to Buzzfeed reporter Ryan Mac included the claim the Briton was a "child rapist", imploring the reporter to "find out what's actually going on" and suggesting the diver took no part in the cave rescue. John continues to explore and document underwater caves throughout the world. The Finnish president awarded Gronqvist the First Class Medal of the White Rose of Finland, after he was nominated by his colleagues in the fire service. At such depths and temperatures, a tear in a dry suit on the sharp cave floor could result in death. They had a distinct advantage over the British rescue team - they had performed the traverse before, so felt confident they could reach the bodies from the Plura side, cut Huotarinen's body free and guide both of them to the surface. He and his friends also knew that there was a chance that part of northern Europe's biggest wet cave system would remain closed to the sport forever if they failed. The full story of Thailands extraordinary cave rescue, Mr Musk reignited the row earlier this month, Trump mistrial request denied in NY rape lawsuit, US rock band Aerosmith announce farewell tour, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, DeSantis-backed board votes to countersue Disney, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, Street piano confiscated as public 'break rules', NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine. The following afternoon they went to the local police station. Mr Musk (R) alleged that British diver Mr Unsworth (L) had a "child bride". Vesa Rantanen, who was still recovering from a spinal injury caused by his decompression sickness, would be surface manager. asks Juan Reina. He never married, and his house in England, cluttered with home-made diving equipment, once led a Sunday Telegraph journalist to describe him as not the The Lufthansa electrician took up cave diving 20 years ago, and exploration became his passion after he moved to Ireland. Read about our approach to external linking. Its hence no surprise that he has since been awarded the Star of Courage, the Medal of the Order of Australia, the Order of the Direkgunabhorn, and the title of Australian of the Year (2019). But unlike Vesa Rantanen, Kankanen decided not to push through to Steinugleflaget. All Rights Reserved. Hypercapnia can be deadly, but even a mild case may cause confusion and disorientation, which in a deep cave is liable to have serious consequences. Musk called Unsworth a pedo in a tweet to his 22.5 million followers after Unsworth criticized Musk in a July 13 television interview with CNN about the rescue. The lawsuit explains Unsworths role in the rescue, saying that on June 23, when the soccer players became trapped, several Thai officials called and asked him to go to the cave as soon as possible. We should mention the cycling enthusiast is actually so respected in his field that hes now deemed a highly-sought speaker at any caving, diving, rescuing, and adventure conferences. Mr Stanton (left) and his British dive colleague John Volanthen (right) were the first to reach the 12 boys and their coach inside the Luang Nang Non Cave, with assistance from fellow diver Rob Harper (centre) who flew out June 26 at the request of Thai authorities The pair first clashed over Mr Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help with the cave rescue. In Wookey hole in the UK, alongside Rick Stanton, John advanced the British cave diving depth record to over 90M. The film's director, Juan Reina, laughingly agrees that there is little in his film to contradict the national reputation for cool-headed composure. "You always have to do your best to get your friends out, wherever they are.". They pass the floating body of Jari Uusimaki. When Gronqvist had made his original traverse of the Plura caves in 2013, he had done it with Kai Kankanen, and a third team member, Sami Paakkarinen. "I told her that they are not going to be left there, that we would think of something.". Paakkarinen spoke to the three survivors on the phone from hospital, then spent the day walking around his hotel courtyard. Yes, Vasarhelyi and Chin have cobbled together a true life men-on-a-mission movie intense enough that even Michael Bay and Peter Berg should be able to recognize that no mega-budget dramatization could match up to it. The boys, ages 11-16, were found July 2 by Volanthen and Stanton, according to the lawsuit. The documents said a separate lawsuit would be filed in England. "If we had done a practice run then, things would have been different. He was part of a team that attempted a cave rescue of Eric Establie in 2010, in the But the mission had to be planned in secret. ", Listen to Vesa Rantanen and Sami Paakkarinen speaking to Outlook on the BBC World Service, Follow William Kremer on Twitter @williamkremer. That's why I wanted to take the viewers on that journey. Divers faced the challenge of the narrow caves as they tried to reach the boys. Because he had stopped to help his friend, spending about 20 minutes at a depth of 110m, Gronqvist knew he would have to spend hours making additional decompression stops before surfacing. World-renowned for his rescue and recovery work in caves, Stanton had a feeling he would be asked to travel to Plurdalen to retrieve the bodies - he had done a recovery there in 2006 - and had already started to find out what he could. Divers who have spent time in deep water cannot go straight to the surface because of the risk of decompression sickness, another potentially fatal hazard. The first diver in the second team was Vesa Rantanen. The last soccer player was rescued July 8. Together with Mr. Unsworth, Mr. Harper, Mr. Volanthen, and Mr. Stanton put together the dive portion of the rescue plan that ultimately saved the boys, the lawsuit stated. Rick, 60, tells how he started dating Thai girl Amp Bangnoen when he was introduced to her by a military pal he had saved from a cave in Mexico. The blockbuster vibe continues through the films characterizations, which are involving enough in broad strokes, but considerably less detailed than the helpful 3D renderings that Vasarhelyi and Chin have commissioned of the cave network; disorientation may be a constant threat to the divers, but The Rescue does such a fine job of orienting us to its environs that we soon know the various cave chambers by number. Free Solo filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin further cementing their reputation as rock stars of the extreme non-fiction cinema scene with their most absorbing and ingeniously crafted stress-fest to date so intimately embed us with the ragtag team of cave divers who attempted the impossible that we feel worthy of a medal just for watching them do it. The Tesla founder responded with a series of tweets accusing Mr Unsworth of paedophilia. This body was more buoyant and unwieldy than the first, and Paakkarinen came close to disaster when a part of the cave collapsed on him. Mr Musk has made several accusations against Mr Unsworth without evidence, including that he was a "child rapist". WebVolanthen frequently cave dives and conducts rescues with a partner, Richard Stanton . He also worked with Mortensen and the other actors to make their movements feel authentic to cave diving. He had trained both the victims and counted them as good friends. And when he learned of the soccer team trapped in Tham Luang, he didnt hesitate to call them starting with record-holding cave-diver (and IT consultant) John Volanthen, who becomes his stalwart right-hand man. The lawsuit seeks $75,000 (57,000) in compensation and an injunction against Mr Musk to stop further allegations. Did you know that one of the experts that rescued the trapped Thai schoolboys was a hero firefighter and cave diver from Coventry? They were Finnish divers who knew one another from explorations they had made of the Ojamo mine, west of Helsinki. "If you have to do anything physical - swim harder or faster or anything - that's very dangerous," says Gronqvist. Paakkarinen and Gronqvist continue the descent alone. Nobody has made a new attempt at the traverse, but Sami Paakkarinen says for him it's only a matter of time. If you dive into this strange pond, known as Plura, and swim underground for half a kilometre, you will emerge into a long, colourful cave. It proved a more difficult day than they anticipated. And yet, the documentarys ample suspense is never so overwhelming that it obscures this storys poignant sentiment, nor is the selfless heroism on display so overwrought that it washes away the bittersweet aftertaste The Rescue leaves behind. But after descending about 85m Kankanen returned. He said "this was completely uncharted, unprecedented territory and nothing like this has been done." The Coventry, England resident is a former firefighter with 25 years of experience, which he admits helps him in every expedition as well; thus, his aim is to provide insights to others for safer, better adventures. These two unlikely heroes, along with a handful of other people who are roped into the cause over the course of the movie, feel a personal responsibility to save these kids because they know they might be the only people in the world who are capable of getting the job done. So the Norwegian police called off the recovery. Harper, who had just returned from exploring Thai caves with Unsworth, brought two other divers, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, to help with the rescue. Its a wonder how Vasarhelyi and Chin found this guy before Werner Herzog could invent him. Then Gronqvist steers a dive scooter towards the surface, towing the body, while Paakkarinen follows to help manouevre it. These include and underwater mapping device, communications systems and state of the art, micro rebreathers, allowing divers to stay underwater longer than was previously possible. However, he has since received the Bronze Cross, the Royal Humane Societys Bronze Medal, the honor of Pride of Britain, the George Medal, and the Queens Gallantry Medal all in 2018 or 2019.
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