CHIANG RAI – The family of Suratin Chaichompoo, a volunteer hero from the 2018 Tham Luang Cave rescue, is pleading for help, after he was in a motorcycle crash and is now bedbound. His family has cared for him around the clock for months.
Suratin, 59, one of the volunteers who supported the rescue of the 13 Wild Boars football team from Tham Luang Khun Nam Nang Non in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai. He is bedridden at home in Ban Sahakorn, Mae On district, with his wife and family by his side.
He can no longer run his groundwater drilling business, and his income has dropped by more than 70 percent. The family has already sold three trucks to cover medical and daily care costs.
During a recent visit by reporters, Mr Suratin remained confined to bed and could not move his limbs. His spirits were better. His wife and children feed him and do physiotherapy three times a day. They watch him closely. His condition has improved slightly, and he can speak again after months of struggling to talk.
Tham Luang Cave Mission
Mr Suratin also sent well wishes to Mr. Vern Unsworth, the British cave explorer known for his role in the Tham Luang Cave mission. He heard Vern is dealing with pneumonia and wished him a swift recovery.
If his health improves, he hopes to visit in person. He also wants to see Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, the cave divers who led key parts of the operation. He says he owes them his life. They helped him and his son get out of Chamber 3 during the rescue period. Without them, he believes he would not be here today.
Groundwater Drilling
Piyamas Prathanachai, 48, Suratin’s wife, says the family runs a groundwater drilling and subsurface water management business, with Suratin as the main earner. On 24 May 2025, his motorcycle skidded in Ban Tak, Tak province.
He suffered a broken neck and nerve damage at the base of the neck, which left him bedbound. The sudden loss of his abilities has cut the family’s income by more than 70 percent.
They have already sold three trucks to pay for surgery, ongoing care, and supplies. Monthly hospital visits also add up. Medical transport costs are a burden, since lifting him into a private car is difficult.
Suratin and His Team
Only women and children are at home most days, which makes moving him unsafe. The family hopes to receive a hospital bed and a power wheelchair. These items would ease care and help with safe transport and daily needs.
Suratin has more than 30 years of experience in groundwater drilling. During the Tham Luang operation, he volunteered with a team from the Thai Groundwater Association. They used deep drilling equipment, reaching over 100 metres, to drain water into the aquifer instead of the cave system. This work helped reduce water levels inside the cave.
The Tham Luang Cave rescue was one of the most extraordinary and internationally watched rescue operations in modern history. In June 2018, 12 boys aged 11–16 from the Wild Boars youth soccer team, along with their 25-year-old assistant coach, Ekkaphon Chanthawong (known as “Coach Ek”), became trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand.
The group had entered the cave after practice on June 23, but monsoon rains caused severe flooding that blocked the exit and submerged much of the 10-kilometer-long cave system. What followed was an 18-day ordeal involving over 10,000 rescuers from around the world, showcasing remarkable international cooperation, ingenuity, and bravery.
The operation’s success hinged on draining over 100 million liters of water using 100+ pumps, mapping the cave with sonar and drones, and coordinating experts from Thailand, the UK, Australia, the US, China, and elsewhere.
