WEM AcademyWEM Academy
  • Account
    • My List
    • Logout
  • Contact Us
  • About WEM
  • Login
  • Get Access
  • Submit Content
  • Account
    • My List
    • Logout
  • Contact Us
  • About WEM
  • Login
  • Get Access
  • Submit Content
Searching videos
Please Sign In or Create an account

Forgot Password

The Tham Luang Thai Cave Rescue

34m

Dr Richard “Harry” Harris works in anaesthesia and aeromedical retrieval medicine in Adelaide, South Australia. He has expertise in diving, wilderness and remote area health. His passion for cave diving goes back to the 1980s and has taken him to the corners of the globe in search of new adventures.

Harry and the “Wet Mules” have explored the Pearse Resurgence in New Zealand to 229m depth, Daxing Spring in China to 213m and Song Hong Cave in Thailand to 196m to name a few. He is an enthusiastic but inferior UW photographer and videographer who is resigned to capturing opportunistic images via helmet cams.

Harry has a professional and voluntary interest in search and rescue operations, establishing the first sump rescue training course in Australasia. By building relationships with emergency services in Australia he has been preparing for such an event.

The 2018 Thailand Cave Rescue was an opportunity to put this training to work.

In June and July 2018, a widely publicised cave rescue saved the lives of members of a junior football team who were trapped inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Twelve members of the team, aged eleven to sixteen, and their 25-year-old assistant coach entered the cave on 23 June after football practice. Shortly afterwards, heavy rains partially flooded the cave, blocking their way out.

Efforts to locate the group were hampered by rising water levels and strong currents, and no contact was made for more than a week. The rescue effort expanded into a massive operation amid intense worldwide public interest involving international rescue teams. On 2 July, after advancing through narrow passages and muddy waters, British divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton found the group alive on an elevated rock about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the cave mouth. Rescue organisers discussed various options for extracting the group, including whether to teach them basic diving skills to enable their early rescue, wait until a new entrance was found or drilled, or wait for the floodwaters to subside at the end of the monsoon season months later. After days of pumping water from the cave system and a respite from rain, the rescue teams hastened to get everyone out before the next monsoon rain, which was expected to bring a potential 52 mm (2.0 in) of additional rainfall and was predicted to start around 11 July. Between 8 and 10 July, all twelve of the boys and their coach were rescued from the cave by an international team.

Guests: Richard Harris
Host: Richard Harris
Genres / Categories: Human Factors & Situational Awareness, WEM18 - Pre-Hospital Medicine
Anaesthetics, Cave, Rescue, Thai Cave Rescue

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

    about us

    WEM Academy is a new digital resource for extreme medical professionals. A one-stop-shop for topic-based teaching videos, interviews, conference talks and much much more.

    navigate

    • Help Centre
    • FAQs
    • Contact us
    Menu
    • Help Centre
    • FAQs
    • Contact us

    Address : 
    2nd Floor Thomas Whitty House, Silver Street, Axminster, EX135AH

    Phone : 01297 300503

    Website by MCS Support | Privacy and Cookie Policy | Sitemap
    © 2020 world extreme medicine limited trading as WEM Academy. All Rights Reserved.
    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT