British diver describes 'electric' feeling after rescuing trapped Thai boys from cave

A heroic British diver has said that the moment the Thai boys were successfully rescued from the cave in which they were trapped was “electric” and an “indescribable feeling” as he returned home. Tim Acton, from Essex, was one of the seven British men involved in the operation to save the football team of young boys and their coach. He was one of the first people to see the boys emerge alive, as his job was to carry stretchers in and out of the cave. The diver, 39, told The Telegraph: “I helped with the extraction of their boys on their way out. It was fantastic to see them coming out. "It was nerve-wracking and tense times before, when the last kid and the coach came out, everyone was asking [how it felt], I don't know how to explain it, it was just electric, it was just amazing.” He said he has made “friends for life” with the other divers, who returned home today, and the Thai Navy Seals, who he lived and worked with in close quarters. Mr Acton was astounded by the bravery of the Navy Seals, who he said “understood they may never come home” from the mission. He added: “We need to remember Saman Kunan, the Thai Navy Seal that died, he left a young family behind, who need help. “I met his whole team, his whole team had worked with him since they were youngsters, I feel like by the time I left the team, I felt like I knew him very very well. "They're so selfless, unbelievable people.” An Australian doctor who elected to stay with the Thai boys for three days instead of coming out of the cave also paid tribute to the Navy Seal who died in his first Facebook post after finishing the mission. Thai cave rescue | Read more Richard Harris also heaped praise on the British divers, adding: “[The first British divers] not only found the children and coach alive, but conveyed the gravity of the situation to the rest of the world and thus the rescue started in earnest. “The four Brits then did further supply dives to the soccer players, the coach and the four Thai navy Seals which allowed them to prepare and sustain themselves for the rescue ultimately.” It emerged today that the Thai boys were only supposed to be in the cave for an hour, to play after soccer practice, before the waters rose and trapped them. Their handprints from where they had climbed to higher, safer ground were the first clues as to where they were and what they went through to remain alive. Banphot Konkum, father of 13-year-old Duangpetch Promthep, one of the trapped boys, said:"After an hour when they wanted to leave, the water level was rising. They ran further inside the cave to escape from the water. The water flow was strong." He added that all 13 rescued team members will enter the monkhood to pay tribute to Saman Kunan.