Thirteen Lives explores the Thai cave rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from Tham Luang. The boys from the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach were trapped in a cave in Thailand for several days in June 2018. Subsequent efforts resulted in the miraculous rescue of the boys, aged 11 to 17. The world watched as the ordeal unfolded as rescuers pulled them out of the deep cave one by one. They first drugged the trapped boys with ketamine before divers rescued them through dark, narrow underwater passages.
Thai Cave Rescue (Full Episode) | Empty the Oceans
Following the rescue, Netflix released a documentary, The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave, and a limited series titled Thai Cave Rescue. A second documentary, The Rescue, also premiered in 2021, chronicling the ordeal. Additionally, Ron Howard’s film Thirteen Lives, starring Colin Farrell, debuted the following year.
According to BBC, the rescue of the 12 boys and their soccer coach in the Tham Luang Thai cave was a 17-day ordeal that made headlines around the world. It involved rescue workers and volunteers from the Thai Navy Seals, the national police, and other local and national authorities. In addition, there was help from rescue specialists from the US Air Force and cave divers from countries including the UK, Belgium, and Australia.
The 13 prisoners in Tham Luang Cave included 12 boys from the Wild Boars soccer team. Their 25-year-old coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, was also with them. On June 23, 2018, they were exploring the Chiang Rai cave complex when a rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels, trapping them inside. Chantawong, a former monk, taught the young boys survival skills and helped them stay calm.
