The story of the ‘Wild Boars’ boys football team trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand captured the attention of the world last year.

The world held its collective breath as a daring rescue mission was mounted, with Adelaide anaesthetist, Dr Richard Harris SOC OAM, right at the heart of it.

Dr Harris was holidaying when news broke that the boys were trapped in the Tham Luang cave. He rushed to the site to assess the boys’ health, staying with them for three days and earning the respect and admiration of the entire world.

An expert in cave rescues, Dr Harris has expertise in diving, wilderness and remote area health. His passion for cave diving goes back to the 1980s and has taken him to the corners of the globe in search of new adventures.

He has a professional and voluntary interest in search and rescue operations, establishing the first sump rescue training course in Australasia. By building relationships with emergency services locally, he had been preparing for such an event. The 2018 Thailand Cave Rescue was an opportunity to put this training to work.

British divers on the scene requested his help in the rescue, as did the Thai government. His knowledge, calmness and medical assessments made for a successful evacuation.
AADA invites you to hear this remarkable story of heroism from the man himself.