(gentle music) - [Narrator] On June 23rd, 2018, the boys of the Wild Boars Football Club set out for training as usual. They were a football team
of 11 to 16 year old boys with a coach and an assistant coach. Training went on as usual and the head coach said
goodbye to his players and got ready for the
older team's upcoming game putting his phone to the side. (dramatic music) (thunder rumbles) A few hours later, when the coach pulls out
his cell phone again, he sees countless missed
calls from t
he boys' parents. The children hadn't shown up at home despite hours having passed. The coach calls his players individually but none of the children nor the team's assistant
coach could be reached until one player finally
answers the phone, Sangpol, a 13 year old team member. He's receiving the call from home as he was picked up from
training by his mother, but he tells the coach
that the other team members rode their bicycles to the
nearby Tham Luang Caves in order to explore them together wit
h their assistant coach. (tense music) The coach heads straight to the caves. But when he gets there, he
makes a terrifying discovery. (gentle somber music) At the cave entrance, the coach finds the
kids abandoned bicycles which means that the team
is still inside the cave. Only now, a rapid stream of water flows through the cave entrance, creating a life-threatening situation. The heavy rain had started
just when the boys were inside and if they're still
alive, they're now trapped. Thai police
officers find backpacks and other items left behind by the boys. However, apart from the cave entrance, it was not possible to
search deeper inside as the water level was so high that it blocked further access. (news broadcaster speaks foreign language) In addition to local authorities, special divers from the Thai Navy SEALs are called to the Chiang Rai region where a crisis management
team is set up to coordinate a rescue of the team. Also, a British civilian
approaches Thai authorities offeri
ng his help. The man's name is Vernon Unsworth, an experienced caver who lives in the area and has a good understanding
of the Tham Luang Cave system, having been the one who has been exploring and mapping this cave for years. Tham Luang is set to be the
fourth longest cave in Thailand and just over a kilometer
past the entrance, this cave splits into
two paths at a T-section. From here, the entire cave
extends over 10 kilometers deep, and the kids, if they were still alive, would most likely be
further inside on a higher elevated section. The fact that Unsworth was
there was a stroke of luck. He connected Thai authorities with the British Cave Rescue Council and enabled cave divers, John
Volanthen and Rick Stanton to fly in and join the search efforts. John and Rick were longtime dive buddies with a great deal of trust between them as they have performed
a large number of rescue and body recovery missions together. - Out of the breaking news overseas- - [News Broadcaster] 12 players
a
nd their coach missing. - We don't know how far they have gotten. - [Narrator] With new
experts arriving every day, there are growing fears that
it might already be too late before specialized cave
divers can really get started. If the boys were still alive, they would probably have run out of food. After all, they had only
planned to spend about an hour in the cave. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall
leads to rising water levels inside the cave, and instead of progress, the Thai Navy SEALs
were now even
less able to advance inside. And when the British
cave divers showed up, there was a certain skepticism as to what these older
men could contribute that Navy SEALs couldn't. - As far as I know, there's
no threat of war inside a cave so they've never ever been
in a cave in their lives. So, of course, they haven't got
those sort of spatial skills to navigating one, which we've
honed over all those years. - [Narrator] For John,
cave diving is a passion and yet also a hobby. Full-time, he works as
an IT consultant and Rick Stanton is a former firefighter. But while the two civilians lack athletic or military understanding, they have a special skillset
that is perfectly suited for the conditions here. Although they are only civilians, they are the absolute experts
when it comes to cave diving. And getting through the cave here, requires many different skills, because while large parts are flooded, there are also passages where
you can walk through the cave, and at other places, some
climbi
ng is necessary. - Tham Luang had very poor
visibility, so in lots of places, you literally couldn't see
your hand in front of your face and you had to almost feel your way along. Sometimes I just headed into the current because I simply couldn't
see where I was going. I couldn't see any walls and so on. (tense music) - [Narrator] Rick and
John are working their way through the deep cave
system, step by step, placing guidelines along the way. This first dive through the
cave is particularly chal
lenging because they have to swim
against the water current. - There was a really strong current. You probably couldn't swim
against it for a long distance, so we were on the floor
with our hands in the sand, pulling ourselves along. That was the only way to make progress. - [Narrator] Once Rick and John placed guidelines in a section, other divers could partially
pull themselves along and orientation was made a lot easier, though still a challenge. The divers target is a
section called Pattaya
Beach, which is a large chamber that
is located at higher elevation and could offer protection
from the flood waters. Perhaps this is where the boys went. But before advancing this far, John and Rick have to
interrupt their search. The rain kept getting
heavier, and as they thought, this might ultimately
determine the fate of the boys. Considering the conditions, Rick and John have to pause their dives. Nonetheless, no thought
was given to surrender amidst the Thai Navy SEALs, who were working a
round
the clock to do anything that would help reduce the water levels. In addition, countless volunteers
are joining the search, such as Saman Kunan, a
former Navy SEAL himself, and an experienced diver
who joined the help. The SEALs set up a permanent
camp inside the cave at Chamber 3. This larger cavern provided
enough unflooded space to permanently station
equipment, air tanks, and divers. (tense music) Even amidst a bleak situation, they tried everything they
could to divert rivers, find ne
w cave entrances,
and use pumping stations to force as much water out
of the cave as possible. - No sign of life from 12
boys and their soccer coach. - The boys have now been
missing for 72 hours. Locals are holding out hope
that they're still alive. - [Narrator] Driven by the enthusiasm of the local search teams, and considering the slightly
improved weather situation, the British volunteers began
to join the help again, embarking on their longest dive
into the cave system so far, with the goal
of finally
reaching Pattaya Beach. (water burbling) After a long and exhausting dive, they finally make it and
are now at the highest point of the cave system. But still, there is no sign of the boys. From here on, there is no way of continuing
to dive responsibly. The basic rule is to use
about a third of the air for the way in so that you
have another third left for the way back and one
third as your reserve. The divers were already
way past that rule, but they decided to not give up just yet
and advanced further into the cave system, laying guide wire throughout. They continue making their way more than twice as far from the T-section, as their initial
destination, Pattaya Beach, when they eventually swim
up to the water surface and suddenly notice a light. (water burbling) As John swims towards the light
and starts hearing voices, he turns on his camera. - [John] Yeah, (indistinct). - Thank you. - Thank you!
- Thank you two! - How many of you?
- They're all alive. - 13. - [John] 1
3? - Yes, 13. - [John] Brilliant.
Many people are coming. - [Rick] Many, many people. - [John] We are the
first. Many people come. - What day? - [Rick] Tomorrow. - [John] No, no, no. What
day is it, he's asking. - [Rick] Oh. - [John] Monday. Monday. - Monday. - [John] Okay, but one week, Monday. You have been here 10 days. 10 days. You are very strong. (upbeat music) - Just describe the media
interest in this story. - [News Broadcaster] It's huge here. (news broadcasters
speaking foreign languag
e) - [Mark] To find the boys there, is a huge relief for the authorities and just for the nation
in general actually. (upbeat music) - [Narrator] The following
day, three Thai Navy SEALs dive to the team to stay with
them for the remaining time. As enthusiastic as the world reacted to the boys being found,
those involved in the rescue, knew that finding the
boys is the easy part but no one had any idea how
to get them out of the cave. (gentle music) - So the plan for now is this, they are trying
to
furiously pump as much water out of this cave as possible. - [News Broadcaster] Elon Musk
built a kid-size submarine. After the rescue team rejected his offer, claiming that a rigid
craft couldn't negotiate the sinuous cave tunnels, the Tesla boss lashed out on Twitter. - In previous cave rescues,
drilling has been used as a way to get people out. - [Voiceover] And the final
option is to leave the group inside the cave until around mid-October when the monsoon season finally ends. (gentle so
mber music) - [Narrator] On one hand,
there was the option to teach the boys how to dive. They could practice short
dives with instructors in their cave until they
are ready to take on the long, difficult journey out. Option two was to rescue the team using an emergency elevator
in a newly drilled shaft, somewhat similar to the 2010
rescue of miners in Chile. Finally, there was also
the option to simply wait until the rainy season is over. As long as they are trapped, the team would be provided
with food and would be able to walk out of the cave once the water level went down. While to outsiders, it appeared as though there
are many difficult options to choose from, the rescuers
on site came to the realization that it was even worse, that none of these options was realistic. Teaching the kids to dive
in this extreme environment is not possible. Not only are some of
the boys unable to swim, they are also exhausted
and tired from days of no proper sleep. In addition, the path
through the
narrow, dark cave has nothing to do with
recreational scuba diving and a panic attack would
mean certain death. Drilling a shaft was also
completely unrealistic. In the case of the minors in Chile, it took about seven weeks
after their discovery before they could be freed. The situation in the Thai
cave was not much better. The team was almost a
kilometer underground, and in between, there
was mostly solid rock that is difficult to drill through. And even if this approach was used, it's unclear
how to exactly
determine the location of the boys so that the
borehole perfectly lines up with their chamber. Lastly, waiting until
the end of rainy season is also doomed to fail. The oxygen level in the chamber is already in a dangerous range that is not survivable
for a sustained time. And it was still only the
beginning of the rainy season, which lasts until November. The team might have had to hold out for more than four months
during which increasing rain could endanger the safe spot they
were in. The rescuers were out of options. On top of that, word of
a tragic new development made rounds. - Waking up to this news this
morning, the man who died was young, he was fit, he
was a former Navy SEAL, and I think it really just
underlines how dangerous this cave is. - [Narrator] Saman Kunan,
the retired Navy SEAL who volunteered to help, had died. A painful loss, and a
reminder of just how dangerous this entire operation is. - [News Broadcaster] Saman Kunan
died from a lack of oxygen.
His dive partner finding him
unconscious in the water. - [Narrator] With no realistic
rescue plan available, a somewhat insane idea
is thrown into the room. What if the children were sedated and then transported
through the cave system while being unconscious? At this point, Rick Stanton gets in touch with an old acquaintance,
Dr. Richard Harris. Harris is an anesthesiologist
from Australia and a cave diver with over
30 years of experience. Harris is averse to the plan
and considers sedating the
boys far too dangerous with
low chances of survival. Still, he travels to Thailand. And what ultimately convinces him is not a change of his risk assessment, but the realization that
there's simply no better option. To do this, a team was
assembled and flown in, made up of some of the best
cave divers in the world. (tense music) The kids in the cave
would put on a wetsuit and then be given two
shots of sedative drugs, leaving them fully unconscious. Then, a special diving mask is put on, that c
overs the entire face
and supplies positive pressure so that even if a gap opens under water, the air pressure should
keep the water out. The boys' hands were
tied behind their back to keep their arms from swinging around, and a tank filled with 80% oxygen was placed in front of the boys' chest so that their head cannot fully tilt down, which could result in a blocked airway. The kids would also be
tethered to their divers so that they could not get lost. And from this point on,
the lives of the
se kids were literally in these divers hands. (tense music)
(water burbling) - [John] If anything
had happened to the mask that was keeping their face dry, if it had been knocked in any way, then the child would've
unquestionably have drowned. - [Narrator] For longer
intermediate segments in which the cave can be crossed on foot, the boys were taken onto a stretcher and transported towards
the next diving segment. The drugs given to the kids are not enough for the whole journey, and the diver ha
s to administer
a new drug to the child with a pre-made syringe. (tense music) Throughout the entire way, the divers fear for the kids' lives. But when the first two kids
make it safely to Chamber 3, confidence grows. It appears as though this
insane plan is actually working. From here on out, the
water had at this point, successfully been drained
and the Navy SEALs, together with countless volunteers, transported the boys in stretchers through the remaining rocky terrain. - Reports from Norther
n Thailand say, at least four boys have been brought out. - [News Broadcaster] We've
got live pictures here. You can see the helicopter blades. Yes. - [News Broadcaster] Ambulances. - [News Broadcaster]
Ambulances. We saw those. - [Narrator] On the first day, four boys were successfully rescued. And the following day,
another four kids were saved. On the third and last day, the plan was to rescue the last four boys and the assistant coach. (crowd cheering) But as well established
as the procedur
e seemed at this time, something
suddenly didn't work. The last boy was the smallest of them all, and the positive pressure mask
didn't fit his small face. No matter how tight the
divers pressed the mask against the face, it didn't
form a watertight seal. The divers were forced
to try another mask, which they had taken with them, but had hoped that they
would never need it. It is a small children's mask, more suited for recreational use, and even this one barely fits the face and keeps slipping
off,
but the divers secure it as good as possible and
then hope for the best. (tense music) (water burbling) - Extraordinary moment
here as we are now learning that entire team is now free of that cave. (gentle sanguine music) - [Narrator] The rescue
operation was tense until the very last second. But now, it was done. All the children and the
assistant coach were saved. A success greater than even
the divers had expected. Although, not without a price. A Thai Navy SEAL contracted
a blood infect
ion during the rescue operation. Beirut Pakbara was a
petty officer first class, who had struggled with health problems ever since the operation. One year after the rescue, he passed away. With that, two Thai Navy
SEALs gave their lives to save the football team. They represent the relentless effort that these Thai Navy SEALs
put into the mission. And despite some skepticism on
both sides at the beginning, the British divers and the Thai Navy SEALs ultimately complimented
each other ideally, and
were able to proceed
strategically and efficiently. A success story that was
watched around the world. - [Interviewer] You're heroes
now. Did you feel that? - If you could do something
for somebody else's child, I'm sure you would too. We just had a peculiar set of skills that were appropriate in that moment. (spirited upbeat music) - [Ellen DeGeneres] Please welcome the Wild Boars Soccer Team. (audience applauding) (spirited upbeat music) (gentle music) - [Narrator] This was a story that I've
been meaning
to tell for a while, and I'm glad that I finally
got to put it on YouTube. But there are a couple of
things that aren't ideal. For videos to be able to
make ad money on YouTube, they have to be advertiser-friendly, which was fine with this topic, but it's just not the case
with certain subject matters. One of my favorite videos I've made is a detailed look at the
2011 raid on the compound where Osama Bin Laden was hiding, full of custom 3D animations. But this is a very brutal subje
ct matter that would get demonetized and perhaps even
age-restricted on YouTube. Another thing on YouTube is
that ad revenue sort of limits how much effort I can
put into a single video. There's more that I can do
creatively, and I'm not alone. It turns out lots of
creators feel that way, and so what we did is
we all joined together to build a solution. It's called Nebula and it's
our very own streaming service. Here, I have an exclusive
series called "Under Exposure" in which I explored these t
opics that just couldn't work on YouTube. And since Nebula is a subscription model, I get to work with higher budgets, turning my dream projects into reality. (upbeat music) I am immensely proud of
all of these projects, as I fully had the chance
to creatively tell stories in ways that just wouldn't
be possible on YouTube. And over 650,000 people
already enjoy Nebula right now. So join them and head to nebula.tv/neo, and make sure that you use that link, so choose which plan is right for you.
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