CHIANG RAI — His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Suthida have granted royal patronage to Mr. Vernon Harry Unsworth, the British cave expert who played a crucial role in the 2018 Wild Boars football team rescue in Chiang Rai seven years ago, as he receives treatment for pneumonia at Mae Chan Hospital.
Unsworth, a British cave explorer instrumental in the mission to rescue the 13 members of the Wild Boars Academy football team trapped in Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Non cave, was admitted to Mae Chan Hospital in Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai Province, where he is being treated as a royal patient. The gesture has deeply moved Unsworth.
On October 7, 2025, Major General Chakrawee Saneewongyut, Director of the Royal Volunteer Center, Military Region 37, representing the Director of the Royal Volunteer Center Region 3, along with the Chiang Rai Royal Volunteer Center, visited Unsworth at the hospital’s male medical ward and presented him with a gift basket. He was able to communicate normally and is under close medical supervision.
Critical Role in 2018 Rescue
Unsworth had explored Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai for six years before the incident on June 23, 2018, when 13 members of the Wild Boars Academy football team—12 boys and their coach—became trapped inside during flooding.
When the crisis unfolded, Unsworth provided vital information to Thai authorities and international rescue teams, offering crucial details about the cave’s environment that proved essential to the multi-national rescue operation.
At the time, no one could determine how deep into the cave the group had ventured. At a depth of approximately 2 kilometers, the cave splits into two passages.
Unsworth’s expertise helped rescuers deduce that the team likely took the left path—the cave’s main route—rather than the right passage, which required crawling 750 meters to reach a large chamber.
He also coordinated assistance from other international cave explorers, contributing to the successful plan that brought all 13 safely out of the cave.
The boys spent nine nights lost in the cave before being discovered deep in the twisting cave complex, huddled on a patch of dirt above the rising water line on July 2—a moment captured on video and broadcast worldwide. It took another eight days, until July 10, before they were all brought to safety.
The rescue operation captivated global attention and involved expert divers and volunteers from multiple countries working alongside Thai officials in one of history’s most challenging cave rescue missions.
______________
