Four years after thrilling cave rescue, sleepy park readies for onslaught
THAM LUANG CAVE, Thailand - Four years ago, it was a muddy, chaotic and emotionally fraught scene outside the Tham Luang Cave, where thousands of people, from volunteers to parents to cave divers from around the world, gathered with one goal:Over an 18-day ordeal, much of the world's attention was fixed on the cave, with many fearing the worst. But against incredible odds, the entire team was brought out alive.
In a first wave of improvements, roads were repaved and new hotels, stores and coffee shops sprang up. In late July, Amazon Prime released Thirteen Lives, a dramatic retelling of the rescue directed by Ron Howard. In August, Lionsgate released Cave Rescue. And last week, Netflix released Thai Cave Rescue, a six-part series told from the boys' perspective.
Mr Vern Unsworth, a cave explorer hobbyist who has spent years surveying Tham Luang, played a pivotal role in the rescue by recruiting the British cave divers who found and helped rescue the boys. Mr Unsworth said some of the boys and Mr Ekkapol had returned to the cave to go exploring with him - when the weather was dry - and appeared to enjoy it.