Thai Cave Postscript: An Australian Doctor Was The Last Person To Exit The Cave

Inside The Thai Cave

A 53-year-old anesthetist from Adelaide, Australia was reported to be the last person to emerge from the cave after all 12 boys from the Wild Boar soccer team, their coach, and Thai rescue divers exited the cave.

Dr. Richard Harris is a consultant working as head of retrieval co-ordination for MedSTAR, the emergency medical retrieval service in Adelaide, South Australia (SA). MedSTAR responds to trauma and other emergencies throughout SA. MedSTAR responders have access to six Motor Accident Commission (MAC) helicopters, several all-wheel-drive ambulances, and fixed-wing aircraft (under contract with Royal Flying Doctor Service).

Dr. Richard Harris

Dr. Harris was to have been on holiday cave diving in Western Australia when British divers telephoned him with an urgent request to fly to Thailand to help rescue a dozen members of the Wild Boar soccer team, aged 11 to 16,  and their coach from a flooded cave. With 30 years of diving experience and many risky successful rescues to his credit, he was the British divers' first choice to aid in the rescue attempt. He was called after a volunteer Thai diver died in the cave during an initial rescue attempt.

Agnes Milowka

Seven years ago, South Australian police had called Dr. Harris to recover the body of his close friend, Agnes Milowka, a professional diver who worked as a stunt diver in the film Sanctum and was featured in diving documentaries.  Dr. Harris was called to help with the recovery because of the complexity of the cave and extreme challenges that caused Ms. Milowka to run out of air, unable to escape from a four-mile stretch of tangled underwater passages.



After arriving at the remote cave entrance in Thailand, Dr. Harris spent hours navigating the cave's narrow passages (one only 15 inches wide) and swift currents to join the stranded boys. He assessed the health and condition of each boy to determine the order in which they should be rescued. His advice reversed the initial plan to send the strongest boys first. He selected four of the most vulnerable boys to go out in the first phase of the rescue; the stronger boys would be sent out in subsequent phases of the rescue during the following days. In retrospect, it was a wise decision; all were successfully rescued against enormous odds. Dr. Harris was the last person to leave the cave.

Note: I first became aware of Dr. Harris and his role in the rescue when our son, Branden Emmerson, an anesthetist in Adelaide, sent me an email about his own pending temporary assignment with MedSTAR. Dr. Harris was to be developing the roster (the work schedule of MedSTAR staff) that would include Branden as a new staff member. Branden is looking forward to working with Dr. Harris and the rest of the MedSTAR team.