When they noticed the water finally start to recede, they somehow found the strength to attempt a daring escape, completely unaided –– shocking the rescue team above ground when they appeared at the cave entrance on Saturday.
Their courage was born from fear, one of the survivors told CNN in an exclusive interview. Through narrow, treacherous tunnels, some waterlogged and cold enough for wetsuits, others so tight oxygen was scarce, the men navigated 260 meters (approximately 850 feet), from the chamber they’d been trapped in to the cave’s mouth, a distance equivalent to the height of a 78-story building.