International rescue efforts lead to success in Thailand
Operation to save soccer team called a once in a lifetime event; Jeff Paul reports from the scene in Thailand.
The Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in Thailand — where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped for 18 days — will become a "living museum" to showcase the harrowing ordeal that unfolded in recent weeks as the world watched.
The boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach were fully rescued Tuesday after Thai navy SEALS completed the high-risk mission through rising floodwaters.
The complex, in which the boys reportedly traveled through the treacherous cave as part of an "initiation" ritual, will become a showcase for locals and tourists alike.
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"This area will become a living museum, to show how the operation unfolded," Narongsak Osottanakorn, head of the rescue mission, said, according to Reuters.
Osottanakorn said that "an interactive database" will be part of the experience, calling the plan "another major attraction for Thailand."
Osottanakorn, 57, the governor of Chiang Rai, the province where the complex is located, graduated from Ohio State University in 1988, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The boys became trapped in the cave after heavy rains flooded the complex. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reportedly said Tuesday that safeguards would have to be put in place at the scene to protect future tourists.
The rescue mission captivated the world after the group was discovered by two British divers on July 2. A rescue volunteer, former Thai navy SEAL Saman Kunan, died during the operation when he ran out of oxygen.
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