Navy SEAL members given hero’s welcome at their home base
A total of 159 naval officers, including 127 Navy SEAL members, were given a hero’s welcome upon their arrival at the U-tapao airbase in Sattahip naval base, Chon Buri province, this afternoon.
They were flown out of Chiang Rai this morning after the end of the 17-day high-risk rescue operation on Tuesday night to bring all the 13 survivors out of the flooded Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district.
A Royal Thai Navy brass band played marching music as the RTN’s jet touched down at U-tap airbase. RTN Commander-in-Chief Admiral Naris Prathumsuwan was at the plane side to welcome the 159 returnees.
The Navy SEALs and their international divers played a crucial role in extracting the 13 survivors out of the flooded cave – four on Sunday night, another four the following day and the last five on Tuesday.