British divers who rescued 12 boys and their football coach from flooded cave in Thailand given honorary degrees

Their effort has been described as one of the greatest rescues of all time

Two British divers who helped save a young football team trapped inside a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 have been awarded honorary degrees by the University of Bristol.

The divers — John Volanthen, from Bristol, and Rick Stanton, from Coventry — had rescued 12 members of a junior football team and their coach from Thailand’s Tham Luang cave.

Their effort has been described as one of the greatest rescues of all time.

The cave is a rare place where a person can become completely isolated. With no GPS, no Wi-Fi and no cellphone service, many of the cave’s deepest recesses are unmapped.

The last known survey was conducted in the 1980s by a French caving society.

In a statement on Wednesday, Linda Wilson, Vice-President of the University of Bristol’s Spelaeological Society, who nominated the two divers for their honorary degrees said: “Rick, John and the other rescue divers were being asked to perform an impossible task.

“Fortunately, by a combination of extraordinary courage and meticulous planning, they overcame all the odds and succeeded in one of the most extraordinary rescues that has ever been attempted, ultimately bringing out all 12 boys and their coach alive despite the most hazardous conditions imaginable.”

After receiving the degrees, the divers said that they were humbled.

Mr Stanton said it was an “absolute honour” to receive the award.

“It’s an honour and humbling, especially considering others who have received the same and have achieved far greater things than me,” said Mr Volanthen.

Describing the rescue mission, Mr Stanton said that it was “unprecedented” in scale.

“It was unprecedented, nothing really compares. People are citing it as one of the greatest rescues of all time.

“It was a protracted two and a half weeks and you had to think outside the box. We were literally writing the procedures, there was no manual – this had never been done before.”

The duo led a team of 5,000 rescue workers to bring the 13 people to safety.

“Having operated in difficult conditions, I was reasonably confident in being able to manage my own safety. For the boys it was extremely dangerous. Trying to get them out was something that hadn’t been done before,” said Mr Volanthen said.