In an amazing turn of events, one teenager was finally able to meet his rescuer after five long years.
After surviving the unthinkable, Adul Samon is now living the life he was meant to. From graduating from an American high school to playing a sport he’s always loved, things are far from where he thought they’d be a few years ago.
This is because he was one of the infamous 13 who were part of a rescue mission when they were stranded in a cave.
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In 2018, Samon was rescued from the cave along with 11 of his Thai soccer teammates as well as their coach.
Playing for the Wild Boars soccer team, the students, aged 14 at the time, were supposed to go to an excursion in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand.
Though it was supposed to be a short journey, for which they didn’t prepare any food or water, it turned into a nightmare.
Little did they know that it was monsoon season, which meant that there was heavy rainfall which could lead to some serious flooding.
So, shortly after venturing on their cave activity, the rain began to fall, and it was only as they tried to leave the cave that the path they originally took was blocked by floodwaters.
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This left all 13 people unable to escape the cave.
After Thai soldiers were able to relay electric cable into the cave, but there was still no way to get everyone safely out.
In the end, the rescue mission lasted nine days from when they first went missing until an unlikely hero came to their aid.
Surviving on only drops of water to keep themselves alive, the group weren’t sure if they would make it.
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They did however never give up trying and attempted to dig a tunnel with their bare hands.
While they were fighting to survive, the media coverage on the rescue mission meant that thousands of people from around the world were actively trying to get the resources to save them and within this group of people, was Rick Stanton.
As a volunteer from an elite British diving team, Stanton was able to rescue to team in an amazing feat.
Speaking to World News Tonight, Samon said: "I didn’t know what I should say or what I was supposed to say. I just happy that finally people found us.”
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Now, at 19 years old, an amazing update on the pair shares that Samon received a full scholarship at The Masters School outside of New York City where he became captain of the school's soccer team.
Head of the school, Laura Danforth said about Samon: "What I heard about his work ethic -- and who he was in the cave, and who he was before the cave and after, I knew that he was gonna be just fine here.”
This is where the magic began. On his graduation day, Stanton decided to pay a visit, even being on stage with Samon when he received his certificate.
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Stanton couldn’t be happier with the life that Samon how lives, as he told the show: "I'm very proud of the fact that I was partly responsible for his, you know, his life, in a way. And to see him make the most of the opportunities he's had.”
On his new outlook in live, Samon admitted that: "We have to keep adjusting to the environment where you are in order to survive. You have to keep adapting your life.”
"This is just incredible, it is this miracle," He added.
"I never thought I would come this far, and I would be sitting here in the United States."
Topics: Thailand, Travel, News, World News