A mother has told of her joy after her son – one of the hero cave divers who helped rescue 12 boys from flooded caves in Thailand – returned safely from what was dubbed Mission Impossible.
Anne Mallinson, who lives in Beaumont Park, spoke after her son, Jason, 50, of Oakes, along with other British divers won praise from around the world for their courageous efforts.
Jason, who became hooked on diving as a teenager, took part in all three dives over a three-day long operation that held the world’s attention since their ordeal began over 17 days ago.
He and three other British divers were responsible for bringing the boys and their coach out in an incredibly dangerous mission.
How risky the operation was, was underlined by the death of a former Thai navy diver who lost his life there on Friday.
And on Wednesday it was reported that it easily could have been a disaster after divers revealed that water pumps draining the area began to fail just hours after the last boy had been evacuated.
It’s understood divers and rescue workers were still more than 1.5km inside the cave clearing up equipment when the main pump failed, leading water levels to rapidly increase.
Anne, a retired social worker, said: “Originally Jason was the back up when John Volanthen and Rick Stanton went out. One Wednesday, July 4, I got a phone call in the morning from Jason saying could I pick up his 18-month-old son Joe up as he had to go out to Thailand.
“I was very concerned and anxious as his partner Emma, who is also an experienced diver, told me it was a particularly difficult operation.
“Jason usually has a good idea of how it’s going to be, how the operation will shape up, but Emma didn’t tell me everything because she knew how worried I would be. It was a very scary expedition. He was the diver who brought out the letters from the boys for the parents to reassure them.
“I thought there was just going to be one dive but there were three. They have handled it brilliantly and I am very, very proud of him and all his colleagues. It’s absolutely a miracle that they have got them out when you think of all the obstacles they had to get through.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, I’ve left it to Emma but I have Whatsapped some pictures of Joe waving to him which I thought was nice. I’m hoping to see him later this week when he comes home.”
