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Miracle of ‘Wild Boars’ rescue transforms Thai cave into tourist draw
MAE SAI, Thailand, June 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tourists snap selfies by a
bronze statue of the diver who died trying to save the ‘Wild Boars’ football
team from a flooded cave, while momentos from their rescue fly off the
shelves — scooped up by the 1.3 million people who have descended on a once
serene mountainside in northern Thailand.
“It’s amazing what happened here. I followed everything from Australia,”
tourist John McGowan told AFP after taking photos at the visitor centre
around 100 metres from the Tham Luang cave entrance.
“I wanted to see it with my own eyes,” the 60-year-old said, adding he was
a little disappointed the cave is still off limits to visitors.
For a few dollars tourists can get framed photos at the site, pick up
posters of the footballers and take home a souvenir t-shirt — some printed
with the face of Saman Gunan the Thai diver who died in the bid to save the
group.
There has been extraordinary global interest in the picturesque rural
backwater of Mae Sai since 12 youngsters — aged between 11 and 16 — and
their coach entered the Tham Luang cave on June 23, 2018.
They quickly became trapped by rising water levels and the daring,
unprecedented mission to extract them through twisting flooded passageways
captivated the world for 18 nail-biting days.
When they emerged — after being heavily sedated and manoeuvered out by
expert divers — they did so into the centre of a global media frenzy.
The cave, which previously received around 5,000 visitors a year, has
since been inundated by visitors both Thai and foreign.
“A miracle has happened here with these children,” Singaporean tourist
Cheong, giving one name, said but adding Tham Luang “must still have a
spiritual side” despite the mass popularity.
– Tragedy and luck –
Mae Sai district, where the cave is located, was considered off the beaten
track for foreign visitors.
But between October 2018 and April this year alone “1.3 million people
visited,” site manager Kawee Prasomphol told AFP.
The government now has big plans for the area around the storied cave,
Kawee added, allocating a total of 50 million baht ($1.6 million) including a
shopping complex, restaurants, hotels and several campsites outside the
national park.
Vans disgorge streams of tourists who explore a visitor hub where the
centrepiece is a mural entitled “The Heroes”.
It depicts the young footballers, stars of the rescue, and junta chief
Prayut Chan-O-Cha — a reminder of the governmental fingerprints in aiding
their cause.
At the heart of the mural is the beaming face of Saman Gunan, the Thai
Navy SEAL diver who ran out off oxygen attempting to establish an air line to
the children and their coach — the only fatality across the near three-week
rescue mission.
Laying white flowers at the foot of his bronze statue, Thai nurse Sumalee,
who travelled four hours to the site, described him as “the hero of the whole
country” in a sobering reminder of the risks involved in the rescue amid the
blizzard of marketing opportunities now attached to the cave story.
Nearby lottery ticket vendors are capitalising on the perceived good
fortune linked to the boys’ survival and the folkloric appeal of a nearby
shrine. The number of stalls has mushroomed from a few dozen to around 250.
Kraingkrai Kamsuwan, 60, who moved his stall to the site weeks after the
rescue, sells 4,000 tickets a month ($2.5) but reckons more will visitors
will arrive once the cave reopens. He told AFP: “People want to gamble after
wishing for luck from the shrine.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1628 hrs