CHIANG RAI – Doctors report Tham Luang Cave rescue hero Vern Unsworth has been treated for pneumonia and is now recovering at home. He has left the hospital, though he still needs antibiotics and assisted breathing.
Unsworth, a cave expert and one of the key figures in the 2018 Tham Luang operation, was admitted to Mae Chan Hospital in Chiang Rai after falling ill. According to his wife, Ms Woranan Rattawiphakkun, who serves as the chief executive of Huai Khrai Subdistrict Administrative Organization, he was taken to the hospital on 22 September. Doctors diagnosed pneumonia. He spent six days in the ICU, then a further ten days on the ward.
Doctors discharged him yesterday afternoon, 7 Oct 2025, to continue recovery at his home in Ban San Yao, Huai Khrai. He has a follow-up appointment on 15 Oct 2025. During home recovery, he must keep taking antibiotics and use breathing support as advised by his medical team.
The Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation visited him at home this afternoon.
Earlier, on 6 Oct 2025, the Chiang Rai Governor, Rathanaphon Naradisorn, visited Unsworth with a delegation. The group included Maj Gen Jakkawit Saniworayut, Director of the Royal Volunteer Centre at the 37th Military Circle, representing the Regional Royal Volunteer Centre for Region 3 and the Chiang Rai Royal Volunteer Centre.
They were joined by Deputy Governor Prasert Chitpleecheep, Mae Chan District Chief Yanawut Sudphimsri, Provincial Public Health Doctor Dr Ekachai Kamlue, and other officials. They offered support and a gift basket to the British caver.
Vern Unsworth’s Tham Luang Cave Efforts
Vern Unsworth, a British cave diver and caving specialist, played a key part in the rescue of the Wild Boars football team, twelve boys and their coach, who were trapped in Thailand’s Tham Luang Cave in June and July 2018. He had spent years exploring the Tham Luang Cave system and knew its twisting passages and hazards well. When floodwater cut off the team, he was among the first to grasp the danger and the scale of the task.
His knowledge shaped the early response. He gave Thai officials clear advice and worked with top international dive teams. He shared detailed notes on the cave’s layout, a network stretching more than 10 kilometres with tight squeezes and fickle water levels. British divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton were part of that effort, and they found the boys after nine days underground.
Unsworth pushed for fast, smart action, as monsoon rain and falling oxygen made delay risky. He stressed the need for the right gear and methods for zero-visibility water and narrow passages. That guidance influenced the plan to fit the boys with full-face masks and pair them with expert guides through the flooded tunnels.
His steady approach, local insight, and ability to link teams from many countries helped solve complex logistics and safety issues. Over three tense days, the operation brought every boy and the coach out alive. Unsworth’s role, often played down, sat at the heart of this joint effort, blending deep local knowledge with global teamwork to deliver a safe outcome against long odds.
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