Tham Luang cave rescue

In June/July 2018, a junior association football team became trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non, a cave system in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, but were ultimately rescued. Twelve members of the team, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach entered the cave on 23 June after a practice session. Shortly after they entered, heavy rainfall began and partially flooded the cave system, blocking their way out and trapping them deep within.
Efforts to locate the group were hampered by rising water levels and strong currents, and the team were out of contact with the outside world for more than a week. The cave rescue effort expanded into a massive operation amid intense worldwide public interest and involved international rescue teams. On 2 July, after advancing through narrow passages and muddy waters, British divers John Volanthen and Rick 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 underwater diving skills to enable their early rescue, to wait until a new entrance to the cave was found or drilled or to wait for the floodwaters to subside by the end of the monsoon season several months later. After days of pumping water from the cave system and a respite from the rainfall, the rescue teams worked quickly to extract the group from the cave before the next monsoon rain, which was expected to bring additional downpours on 11 July. Between 8 and 10 July, all 12 boys and their coach were rescued from the cave by an international team.
The rescue effort involved as many as 10,000 people, including more than 100 divers, scores of rescue workers, representatives from about 100 governmental agencies, 900 police officers and 2,000 soldiers. Ten police helicopters, seven ambulances, more than 700 diving cylinders and the pumping of more than one billion litres of water from the caves were required.
Saman Kunan, a 37-year-old former Royal Thai Navy SEAL, died of asphyxiation during an attempted rescue on 6 July while returning to a staging base in the cave after delivering diving cylinders to the trapped group. The following year, in December 2019, rescue diver and Thai Navy SEAL Beirut Pakbara died of a blood infection contracted during the operation.
Tham Luang Nang Non is a karstic cave complex beneath Doi Nang Non, a mountain range on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. The cave system is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and has many deep recesses, narrow passages and tunnels winding under hundreds of metres of limestone strata. Since part of the system is seasonally flooded, a sign advising against entering the caves during the rainy season (July to November) is posted at the entrance.
On Saturday 23 June 2018, a group of 12 boys aged between 11 and 16, from a local junior football team named the Wild Boars, and their 25-year-old assistant coach, Ekkaphon Kanthawong, went missing after exploring the caves. According to early news reports, they planned to have a birthday party in the cave after the football practice and spent a significant sum of money on food, but they denied this in a news conference after the rescue. The team was stranded in the tunnels by sudden and continuous rainfall after they had entered the cave system. They were forced to leave some food supplies behind when fleeing the rising water.
At around 7 pm that evening, the head coach and founder of the team, Nopparat Kanthawong (Thai: นพรัตน์ กัณฑะวงษ์), checked his phone and found about 20 missed calls from parents worried that their children had not returned. Nopparat dialled assistant coach Ekkaphon and a number of the boys, but he was unable to reach them. He eventually contacted Songpon Kanthawong, a 13-year-old member of the team who said that he had separated from the team after practice and that the rest of the boys had entered the Tham Luang caves. The coach raced to the caves, finding abandoned bicycles and bags near the entrance and water seeping from the muddy pathway. He alerted authorities to the missing group after seeing the team's unclaimed belongings.
There were 12 children and one adult trapped in the cave, as follows:
At the time of the rescue, the assistant coach and three of the boys had no nationality. Head coach Nopparat explained that they are from tribes in an area known as the "Golden Triangle", which extends across parts of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Southwestern China. This region has no clear borders and the people are not assigned passports. Their statelessness deprived them of basic benefits and rights, including the liberty to leave Chiang Rai province. "To get nationality is the biggest hope for the boys", head coach Nopparat said. "In the past, these boys have problems travelling to play matches outside of Chiang Rai because of their nationless status." Following the team's rescue, Thai officials promised to provide the three boys and the coach with legal assistance in obtaining Thai citizenship, a process that could take up to six months. The four were granted Thai citizenship on 26 September 2018.
British caver Vernon Unsworth, who lives in Chiang Rai and has knowledge of the cave complex, was scheduled to make a solo venture into the cave on 24 June when he received a call about the missing boys. Unsworth advised the Thai government to request assistance from the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC). On 25 June, Thai Navy SEALs divers arrived and began searching the cave. A Thai Navy SEAL said the water was so murky that even with lights they could not see where they were going underwater. After continuous rain, which further flooded the entrance, the search had to be temporarily interrupted. On 27 June, three BCRC cave divers arrived with specialist equipment including HeyPhone radios, followed by separate teams of open-water divers. On 28 June, a United States Air Force team—reportedly United States Air Force Pararescuemen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, the 31st Rescue Squadron, and the 353rd Special Operations Group—joined them. By 29 June, an Australian Federal Police team of Specialist Response Group divers had arrived, followed by a Chinese team of divers from the Beijing Peaceland Foundation on Sunday, 1 July.
Meanwhile, policemen with sniffer dogs searched the surface above for shaft openings that could provide alternative entrances to the cave system below. Drones and robots were also used in the search, but no technology existed to scan for people deep underground.
BCRC divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen advanced through the cave complex placing diving guidelines, supported by Thailand-based Belgian cave diver Ben Reymenants and French diver Maksym Polejaka. The search had to be suspended due to the weather, as rainfall increased the flow of water in the cave where the divers were battling strong currents and poor visibility. The search resumed on 2 July after the weather improved. The twelve boys and the coach were discovered at approximately 22:00 by Stanton and Volanthen, whose efforts were overseen from outside by BCRC diver Robert Harper. The boys and coach were on a narrow rock shelf about 400 metres (1,300 ft) beyond the "Pattaya Beach" chamber, named after an above-ground beach in Thailand. Volanthen had been placing guidelines in the cave to assist others in navigation when he ran out of line. He then swam to the surface and soon found the missing group, smelling them before hearing or seeing them. The ledge where they were found is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the cave mouth. A video of the encounter, showing the boys and their interactions with the divers, was posted on Facebook by the Thai Navy SEALs. Former Chiang Rai provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn [th], who was in charge of rescue work, said, "We found them safe. But the operation isn't over." The Thai, US, Australian and Chinese diving teams supported by the BCRC divers began transporting diving bottles into the cave system and established an air supply storage area in Chamber 3.
On 3 July, the trapped group was joined by three Thai Navy SEALs who supported them until the rescue. The SEALs included Thai Army doctor Lt. Col. Pak Loharachun of the 3rd Medical Battalion, who had completed the Navy SEALs course. Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment and keeping the boys entertained and that none of those trapped were in serious condition. "They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor", Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai Navy's Special Forces, told reporters. A video made by the rescuers, and shared a few hours later by the Thai Navy SEALs, showed all twelve boys and their coach introducing themselves and stating their age. Wrapped in emergency blankets and appearing frail, they all said hello to the outside world. "Sawatdi khrap", each boy said with his palms together in wai, the traditional Thai greeting. A second video shows a medic treating them. It was believed that some of the group could not swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue. The Army doctor discovered that they had attempted to dig their way out of the cave. The team members had used rock fragments to dig every day, creating a hole five metres deep.
BCRC diver Jason Mallinson offered the boys and coach an opportunity to send messages to relatives by using his wet notes pad. Many of the notes said they were safe, reassured family members that everything was fine, and included words of love, reassurance and encouragement.
A logistics camp was established at the cave entrance, which accommodated hundreds of volunteers and journalists in addition to the rescue workers. The site was divided into several zones: restricted areas for the Thai Navy SEALs, other military personnel, and civilian rescuers; an area for the relatives to give them privacy; and areas for the press and the general public.
An estimated 10,000 people contributed to the rescue effort, including more than 100 divers, representatives from about 100 government agencies, 900 police officers, 2,000 soldiers and numerous volunteers. Equipment included ten police helicopters, seven police ambulances, and more than 700 diving cylinders, of which more than 500 were in the cave at any time while another 200 were in the queue to be refilled. More than a billion litres of water (the equivalent of 400 Olympic-size swimming pools) was removed.
The place where the boys became stranded was about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the entrance and 800–1,000 metres (2,600–3,300 ft) below the top of the mountain. The route to their location was blocked by several flooded sections, some with strong currents and zero visibility, and there were some extremely narrow parts, the smallest measuring only 38 by 72 centimetres (15 in × 28 in). The journey through the cave to reach the boys took six hours against the current and five hours to exit with the current, even for experienced divers.
The rescue workers battled rising water levels from the outset. In an effort to drain the cave, a stone diversion dam was built upstream, and systems were installed to pump water out of the cave and divert flows that were entering it. On 4 July, it was estimated that the pumps were removing 1,600,000 L/h (420,000 US gal/h) from the cave, ruining nearby farm fields in the process. For a time, well-meaning volunteers were inadvertently pumping water back into the groundwater supply. Helped by a spell of unseasonably dry weather, these efforts reduced water levels by 1.5 centimetres (0.6 in) per hour on 5 July, enabling the rescue teams to walk 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) into the cave. However, heavy rains forecast for 8 July were expected to halt or reverse the process and could even flood the position where the boys and their coach were trapped.
On 6 July, the oxygen level in the cave was detected to have dropped, raising fears that the boys might develop hypoxia if they remained there for a prolonged time. By 8 July, the oxygen level was measured to be 15%; the level needed to maintain normal function for humans is between 19.5% and 23.5%. Thai military engineers attempted to install an air supply line to the boys, but the effort was abandoned as impractical.
As the crisis unfolded, rescuers planned several different methods to save the team and coach. The principal options were to:
Multiple dangers—the threat of more heavy rain, dropping oxygen levels, and the difficulty or impossibility of finding or drilling an escape passage—forced rescuers to make the decision to bring out the team and coach with experienced divers. The Thai Navy SEALs and US Air Force rescue experts met with the Thai Minister of the Interior who approved the plan. 90 divers worked in the cave system, 40 from Thailand and 50 from other countries. The media initially reported that the Thai military had said rescuers would teach the boys basic diving skills to enable them to make the journey. However this was quietly deemed too risky and instead the boys were fully sedated and were unconscious for the journey. Organisers built a mock-up of a tight passage with chairs, and divers practised with local boys in a school swimming pool. Thai SEALs and US Air Force experts then refined the plan to use teams of divers to bring out the weakened boys.
On 5 July, at 8:37 pm, Saman Kunan (Thai: สมาน กุนัน; born 23 December 1980), a 37-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL, made a dive from Chamber 3 to the T-junction close to Pattaya Beach to deliver three air tanks. During his return dive, he lost consciousness underwater. His dive buddy attempted CPR without success. Kunan was brought to Chamber 3 where CPR was attempted again, but he could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at about 1 am on 6 July.
Formerly a member of Thai Navy SEALs class 30, Kunan had left the SEALs in 2006 at the rank of petty officer 1st class; he was working in security at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport when he volunteered to assist with the cave rescue. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant commander by the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, an unprecedented rise of seven ranks. A funeral, sponsored and attended by the Thai royal family, was held on 14 July. On the same day, Kunan was awarded the Knight Grand Cross (first class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Another rescue diver and Thai Navy SEAL, Beirut Pakbara, died the following year from septic shock after acquiring an unspecified latent blood infection during the rescue operation.
On the morning of 8 July, officials instructed the media and all non-essential personnel around the cave entrance to clear the area as a rescue operation was imminent, due to the threat of monsoon rains later in the week, which were expected to flood the cave until October.
For the first part of the extraction, 18 rescue divers—13 international cave divers and five Thai Navy SEALs—were sent into the caves to retrieve the boys, with one diver to accompany each boy on the dive out. The international cave diving team was led by four British divers: John Volanthen, Richard Stanton, Jason Mallinson, and Chris Jewell (each assigned a boy), and two Australians: Richard Harris, an anaesthetist, and his friend Craig Challen, a veterinarian. Irishman Jim Warny became an additional lead diver on the final day of the rescue to bring back assistant coach Ekkaphon, and physician Harris took over the lead rescue of Pong. The lead divers' portion of the journey would stretch over one kilometre, going through submerged routes while being supported by 90 Thai and foreign divers at various points performing medical check-ups, resupply of air tanks, and other emergency roles.
There were conflicting reports that the boys were rescued with the weakest first or strongest first. In fact, the order was which boy volunteered first. "I talked with Dr. Harris. Everyone was strong and no one was sick," Ekkaphon told the press. "Everybody had a strong mental state. Dr. Harris said ... there's no preference." The team decided as a group that the boys who lived the farthest away should leave first. Ekkaphon also stated in their 18 July press conference, not realising at the time that their story had attracted global media attention: "We were thinking, when we get out of the cave, we would have to ride the bicycle home ... so the persons who live the furthest away would be allowed to go out first ... so that they can go out and tell everyone that we were inside, we were okay."
Each boy was dressed in a wetsuit, with a buoyancy aid, harness, and a positive pressure full-face mask. Harris administered the anaesthetic ketamine to the boys before the journey, rendering them "fully unconscious." This was to prevent them from panicking on the journey, which would risk their lives and those of their rescuers. They were also given the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam, and the drug atropine to steady their heart rates and reduce saliva production to prevent choking. A cylinder with 80% oxygen was clipped to their front, a handle was attached to their back, and they were each tethered to a diver in case they were lost in the poor visibility. The rescue divers described each child as "a package". The Thai government granted Harris and two medical assistants diplomatic immunity against judicial action, in case something went wrong.
The anaesthetic lasted between 45 minutes and one hour, requiring divers, whom Harris had trained, to administer "top-up" ketamine injections during the three-hour journey. The boys were manoeuvred out by the swimming divers who held onto their back or chest, with each boy on either the right or left side of the diver, depending on the guideline; in very narrow spots the divers pushed the boys from behind. The boys were carefully navigated through tight passages to avoid dislodging their face masks against rocks. The divers kept their heads higher than the boys so that, in poor visibility, the divers would hit their head against the rocks first. The divers knew the boys were breathing from their exhaust bubbles, which they could see and feel.
After a short dive to a dry section, the divers and boys were met by three divers, and the boys' dive gear was removed. The boys were then transported on a drag stretcher over 200 m (660 ft) of rocks and sand hills. Craig Challen assessed them, and their dive gear was put back on before they were re-submerged for the next section. The boys arrived at 45-minute intervals.
After being delivered by the divers into the staging base in Chamber 3, the boys were passed along a "daisy chain" by hundreds of rescuers stationed along the treacherous path out of the cave. Wrapped in "sked" rescue stretchers, the boys were alternately carried, slid and zip-lined along a complex arrangement of pulleys installed by rock climbers. Many areas from Chamber 3 to the entrance of the cave were still partially submerged and rescuers described having to transport the boys over slippery rocks and through muddy water for hours. The journey from Chamber 3 to the cave entrance had initially taken about four to five hours, but this was reduced to less than an hour after a week of draining and clearing the mud path using shovels.
The authorities warned that the extraction would take several days to complete because crews had to replace air tanks, gear, and other supplies, requiring ten to twenty hours between each run. Shortly after 19:00, local officials confirmed that two of the boys had been rescued and taken to Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital. Shortly afterwards, two more boys exited the cave and were assessed by medical officials. Low water levels had reduced the time required for the rescues. The lower water was due to improved weather and the construction of a weir outside the cave to help control the water.
On 9 July, four more boys were rescued from the cave. On 10 July, the last four boys and their coach were rescued from the cave. The rescue procedure was streamlined with practice, so the total time to extract a boy was reduced from three hours on the first day to just over two hours on the final day, allowing four boys and the coach to be rescued. The three Thai Navy SEALs and the Army doctor who had stayed with the boys the entire time were the last to dive out. Three of these divers made it to Chamber 3, joining waiting rescuers when the pumps shut off for an uncertain reason, possibly due to a burst water pipe. The water levels in Chamber 3 started to rise, which would have cut off their access to the first two chambers and the cave entrance. "All of a sudden a water pipe burst and the main pump stopped working," a diver stated. "We really had to run from the third chamber to the entrance because the water level was rising very quickly—like 50 cm every 10 minutes." This forced up to 100 rescuers still located more than 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) inside the cave to evacuate in a hurry, abandoning the rescue equipment inside the cave. The last diver made it back to Chamber 3 as everyone was preparing to leave. The rescuers managed to rush to the cave exit in under an hour.
A number of news outlets reported on the role of assistant coach Ekkaphon during the rescue. Previously a Buddhist monk, he had calmed the boys by guiding them in meditation during the ordeal. He also passed on a message in which he apologised for putting the children in danger.
Thai authorities reported that the rescued boys were able to eat rice porridge, but more complex foods would be withheld for ten days. The Thai Health Ministry said the boys had lost an average of 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) each, but they were in "good condition". They were placed in quarantine while health workers determined whether they had caught any infectious diseases, and they were expected to remain hospitalised for at least one week. Because of the prolonged stay in a damp cave environment, officials were worried about potential infections such as histoplasmosis or leptospirosis. Parents of the team members initially visited their children by looking through a window, but as soon as laboratory results proved negative, they were allowed to visit in person while wearing a medical gown, face mask and hair cap.
The boys wore sunglasses as a precaution while their eyes adjusted to the daylight. Detailed tests of their eyes, nutrition, mental health and blood were carried out. A Health Ministry physician said all the boys showed an increase in white blood cells, so preventive antibiotic doses were given to the entire team.
Residents of Chiang Rai province volunteered to cook, clean for, and otherwise support the missing team's families and the rescue teams at the encampment by the cave mouth. Social media was used to draw attention to the rescue attempts. Classmates and teachers of the team spent time chanting and praying for the missing boys. Classmates of one of the boys made 1,000 paper cranes for him, while praying for his safe return. Local schools donated money to help the parents with living costs, as many of them stopped working in order to follow the rescue attempts.
On 29 June, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited the search site and told the families of the boys not to give up hope. Following the death of Saman Kunan, King Vajiralongkorn announced that he would sponsor his funeral.
After the rescue was completed, the boys' families, the rescue commander, military officials, and thousands of volunteers gathered at the cave entrance. The group gave thanks for the lives saved and asked forgiveness from the cave goddess "Jao Mae Tham" for the intrusion of pumps, ropes and people during the rescue.
Some observers, primarily in Western media, questioned whether assistant coach Ekkaphon Kanthawong should face criminal charges for leading the group into the caves, despite the warning sign at the entrance stating that it is dangerous to enter between July and November. The boys had entered the cave on 23 June.
Local communities, as well as the boys' parents, emphasised that they did not blame the boys or their coach, as the rain had arrived a month earlier than usual. Vern Unsworth, a British caver mapping the cave, stated, "Nobody's to blame, not the coach, not the boys. They were just very unlucky ... It wasn't just the rain that day, the mountain is like a sponge and waters from earlier rain were raising the levels." Unsworth said that he himself had been planning to make a solo venture into the complex on 24 June, when he received a telephone call saying the boys were missing there.
While the police chief told newspaper Khao Sod that he "hadn't ruled out" pressing negligence charges against the coach for putting the team in danger, no calls were made to take legal action against him. A number of lawyers stated that the coach would probably not face criminal charges, since Thai law also takes into consideration whether a person has malicious intent. In mainstream media, Ekkaphon has widely been held "a hero" and was a "calm voice [that] helped boys to beat despair in the darkness." The coach was reported to have treated the boys with care, giving them his food, helping them remain calm, and instructing them to drink the relatively clean water dripping from the cave walls instead of the murky floodwaters that trapped them.
When asked if Ekkaphon should be held legally responsible for negligence, Mongkhon Bunpiam, the father of 12-year-old Mongkhon, rejected the suggestion: "We would never do that ... the boys love their coach ... and we as parents don't want it either. Coach Eak has been good to my boy, and now I hear how he gave them hope, and kept them calm for so many days without food. I have great admiration for him." Tanawut Vibulrungruang, father of 11-year old Chanin, was reported to be "touched by the actions of the team's coach. Without him ... he doesn't know how the kids could have survived." Head coach Nopparat said he would not have approved of the hike, but was confident in Ekkaphon's ability to take care of the boys. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the emphasis should be on the rescue and the recovery of the team, and he asked the public to avoid a rush to judgement.
Over the course of two weeks, hundreds of volunteers, military specialists and corporate experts arrived from around the world to offer assistance in the rescue.
Volunteers, teams and technical specialists from countries including Germany, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine, also participated in the operation. France offered to send a team of specialists and equipment, but Thai authorities believed that adequate resources were already on site.
The ordeal captured the attention of media from around the world. Over a period of three weeks, articles relating to the incident dominated the top stories section at many major news publications. Following the completion of the rescue, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad conveyed his congratulations, on behalf of Malaysians, to everyone involved in the brave operation to save those trapped in Chiang Rai.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino invited the children and coach to attend the 2018 World Cup final (on 15 July), if circumstances allowed. However, as the entire team was hospitalised for at least a week, they were only able to watch the match on television. FC Barcelona invited the team to play in their international academy tournament in 2019 and to watch a first-team game at their home stadium, Camp Nou. England and Manchester City defender Kyle Walker offered to send football shirts to the team, having noticed that one of the rescued boys was wearing a Three Lions jersey. In October 2018, the boys travelled to the UK as guests at Old Trafford to attend a Manchester United home match against Everton in the Premier League. The boys were invited by the International Olympic Committee to the opening ceremony of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
On 7 July, Elon Musk stated that engineers from SpaceX and the Boring Company planned to build a "tiny, kid-sized submarine" made from the liquid oxygen transfer tube from a Falcon rocket. The submarine would be light enough to be carried by two divers while being robust and small enough to fit through the narrow gaps. Later that day, Musk mentioned that construction on the submarine was complete and that it was being shipped to Thailand. Rick Stanton purportedly emailed Musk stating "It is absolutely worth continuing with the development of this system in as timely a manner as feasible. If the rain holds it out it may well be used." However, Stanton, through a spokesman, dismissed the plausibility of the submarine due to the cave being too narrow.
By 9 July, Musk had arrived at the rescue site and visited Cave 3. He commented that the "mini-sub" was ready if needed and that it would be left in Thailand should it be needed for the rescue or for future events. However, the submarine was not used during the rescue. Additionally the local governor, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, stated that it was "not practical", to which Musk responded that the governor was not a subject matter expert and mentioned the previous emails by Rick Stanton. Vern Unsworth, who helped get the attention of British cave rescue divers, ridiculed the "mini-sub" as a public relations stunt and suggested in a CNN interview that Musk "stick his submarine where it hurts". In retaliation for this, Musk falsely accused Unsworth of paedophilia, and hired a private investigator in an attempt to discredit him. Musk issued a public apology to Unsworth after Unsworth unsuccessfully sued him for defamation.
When the rescue operation was concluded, the Tham Luang Nang Non cave and adjacent forest park were immediately closed to the public. Realising the massive tourism potential, the Thai authorities announced plans to turn the cave into a living museum to showcase the multinational rescue effort. The head of the rescue mission and former governor of Chiang Rai province, Narongsak Osatanakorn [th], predicted that the area was set to become a "major attraction for Thailand", and the deputy head of national parks, Chongklai Woraponsathron, said "we are lucky that we are going to have a world class tourist attraction". However, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha highlighted the concerns for tourist safety and stated that the cave was "dangerous", insisting that the site could not be reopened until adequate precautions had been implemented to safeguard visitors. Prior to the 2018 cave rescue, the area was largely undeveloped and had limited facilities for tourists.
To honour those involved in the rescue operation, a huge mural was created by a team of local artists. It first went on display at Wat Rong Khun, a Buddhist temple in Chiang Rai province, before being moved to a memorial pavilion near the Tham Luang cave entrance in December 2018. Saman Kunan, the former Thai Navy SEAL who died during the rescue operation, is commemorated with a twice life-size bronze statue situated in front of the memorial pavilion. Designed by renowned national artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and produced at a fine art foundry in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, the statue depicts Kunan with 13 wild boars at his feet, symbolising the 12 boys and their football coach.
After the forest park was reopened on 16 November 2018, thousands of tourists flocked to the site, but they were not allowed inside the cave as work was under way on creating a living museum dedicated to the rescue. The cave was officially opened to the public 12 months later, on 1 November 2019, in an inauguration ceremony attended by monks, Thai government officials and forest rangers. This was the first time since the rescue that tourists had been allowed to enter the cave itself, although there was a limit of twenty people at a time, and they were only permitted to visit the main entrance cavern. At around the same time, Tham Luang was upgraded from a forest park to a national park in view of its enhanced status as a tourist hotspot. Forestry officials said that prior to the rescue, around 40,000 tourists had visited the area each year, but more than 1 million had visited since the park reopened the previous November.
On 24 June 2023, a ceremony was held in front of the Tham Luang cave to mark the fifth anniversary of the search and rescue mission. The cave system was then reopened in phases for public access and adventure tourism. The first two chambers were opened to the public in July 2023, with large groups guided as far as Chamber 1 multiple times a day, while smaller groups could visit Chamber 2 on pre-booked guided tours. Limited tours to the third chamber, which served as the hub of the rescue operation, began in December 2023. Accompanied by licensed tour guides, small numbers of tourists can experience the obstacles encountered by the rescue teams and understand the extremely complicated rescue work that was carried out in July 2018. The equipment used by the divers, including ropes, cables and oxygen tubes, remains untouched as exhibits for the visitors to view for themselves. The area after Chamber 3 remains closed to the public, but there are plans to open it up further in the future for more experienced cavers to explore. Back at the cave entrance, display boards give details of the rescue operation, and some of the bicycles are still standing where the boys left them on the day they entered the cave.
Following the incident, cave-diving was incorporated into the training regime for Thailand's Navy SEALs to better prepare them for similar emergencies. As three of the boys and their assistant coach were stateless, officials promised that the four would be granted Thai citizenship within six months, and this happened on 26 September 2018. The Thai government vowed to end statelessness by 2024.
A song about the rescue, "Heroes of Thailand" was written on 16 July 2018 by British music producer Will Robinson, with English and North Thailand dialect lyrics and was performed by the Isan Project featuring Ronnarong Khampha.