Mikko Paasi is, first and foremost, a wreck diver. So how did he end up spending eight hours at a time in a submerged cave in Thailand, with ordinary people all around the world watching with bated breath as extraordinary events unfolded?
It all started on a perfectly normal Saturday. On June 23, a group of young footballers finished their training and went to explore a cave with their coach. When they failed to go home, the alarm was raised and for several nail-biting days no one knew whether they were alive or not.
When it turned out that they were, trapped at the end of a flooded passage, jubilation was very rapidly deflated by the grim reality of where they were. The spotlight of the world media was suddenly turned onto the remote region in northern Thailand – but divers around the world felt an irresistible bond with the rescue team that was being put together on the other side of the world.
Mr Paasi knows that part of the world well, as the 43-year-old Finn has spent many years in Koh Tao, a laid-back resort, where he runs a dive school, alternating with his home base in Malta.
At first the community’s response was remote: circulating a request to all their diving buddies for equipment. He posted a hand-drawn map of what was needed, but just days later, he found himself on the way there.
“I expected to be helping with the logistics,” he admitted. “I never expected to join the rescue team itself.”
He was part of the team that waited anxiously for the first batch of boys to be ferried out through narrow water-filled passages, helping with the next stretch of the passage which took them out to safety.
“That was the moment I will always remember: when one of the team held up four fingers to show that all of them had made it out safely. That is when we realised that there really was hope.”
By July 10, the world applauded as the last of the 13 were brought out alive. They barely had time to rejoice before they became overnight celebrities.
Mr Paasi posed proudly with them at the royal palace in Thailand in September, where he attended a thanksgiving dinner with the Thai prime minister.
“There is a lot of media pressure around them. I hope that they get through that and can get on with their lives!”
Mr Paasi was invited by Calypso Sub Aqua Club, ATLAM Sub Aqua Club, and Amphibians Sub Aqua Club to give a public talk at St James Cavalier on Wednesday October 10 at 7.30pm. The event is fully booked.
