The ordeal riveted millions around the world. First came the awful news that twelve Thai boys, aged 11 to 17, and their young coach were missing. Then the flickering video of the huddle of anxious and hungry boys found by a pair of British divers nine days later. But the most difficult part was yet to come. Monsoon rains had raised the water level in the cave system, and the boys were trapped in an air pocket, surrounded by rising muddy water, over two kilometres from the cave entrance. None of them knew how to dive.
James Massola is South-east Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media. He was previously chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is the winner of a Quill award for investigative journalism and has been a Walkley and Quill Award finalist on two other occasions. He was on the ground at Tham Luang cave for the rescue operation.