Original subtitles

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter] rescue diver Richard Harris…

- [reporter 2] - [reporter 3]

[reporter 4] that gripped the entire world…

[reporter 5] Thai soccer players and their coach

trapped in a flooded cave…

[reporter 6] anaesthetist and specialist cave diver

named Australian of the Year…

[reporter 7] for his crucial role

in the rescue of a young soccer team…

[reporter 8] their heroic efforts to rescue

the 12 boys and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018.

Would you please welcome Dr. Richard Harris.

[audience cheering, applauding]

- [dramatic music playing] - [helicopter blades whirring]

[Richard]

People have said, "Oh you must have a death wish to do what you do".

But when I'm cave diving, I've never felt more alive.

I mean it's definitely a personal quest.

It's not to prove something to anyone else.

It's definitely to prove something to myself.

The more you do it, the more you need to do it to satisfy whatever that drive

to do it in the first place was.

[helicopter blades whirring]

[Richard] it means so much to me.

But diving this cave, it's an obsession.

[dramatic music playing]

[water gurgling]

[music quietens]

[birds squawking]

[Richard] of cave diving,

at some stage you're going to hear about this cave in New Zealand

called the Pearse Resurgence.

[water rustling]

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] has the potential to be the deepest

dived cave in the world.

This is my ninth trip to the Pearse Resurgence.

This trip is different because we're doing something

that has never been done before.

It's the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted.

- [indistinct chatter] - [dramatic music playing]

[Richard] we've got a secret weapon.

And if it works, it'll allow us to go deeper than we've ever been before.

- [helicopter blades whirring] - [Fiona] Maybe I've just got this sense

that this trip's the one that shouldn't be happening,

that maybe the last one should have been the last one.

I maybe feel as though they're…

tempting fate a little bit.

[birds chirping]

[Richard] The passion to do this is so strong. It's hard to explain.

There's something deep inside me…

and I can't let it go.

- [seagulls squawking] - [dramatic music playing]

[Richard]

drawn to depth…

very early on.

As a young boy, spending time on the ocean with my father…

it was just a great time in my life.

And I can remember being in the boat with Dad…

I was always looking at the horizon and wondering what was out there.

But I guess it was around puberty…

[referee whistling]

…I was a bit left behind in terms of strength and coordination…

and if you don't fit in, then you become a target.

And then you get a bit rejected by that group.

It was quite a tricky time for me, I think.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] I loved being underwater.

[water gurgling]

[Richard] It's a beautiful feeling.

There is a sense of being in a dark cocoon and it's completely silent.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard]

And suddenly I felt like, well, actually I don't need those other guys.

Here is something that I can be good at.

[water gurgling]

[Richard]

he just didn't get it.

He was worried, I think. He found it nerve-wracking

to think about my cave diving.

[water splashing, gurgling]

[Richard] I don't know if he felt I was being reckless

or irresponsible by spending time away from family,

especially once I had children.

But the disapproval gathered momentum, I would say.

[Fiona] I'm not a risk-taker.

The risk I've had to manage is living with the risk that he's taking.

[indistinct chatter]

[Fiona] three children.

[Richard] Daddy got a new video camera.

[Fiona] They grew up with…

a father that was a cave diver,

so they probably thought everyone's dad was a cave diver.

I do remember thinking…

life's going to be pretty hard if I'm left as a widow

with three young children to support.

But if someone really loves doing something…

and you love them…

- [motorcycle engine revving] - …what else can you say?

[water gurgling]

[Richard] this absolute love for cave diving,

of course I wanted to stretch myself. I wanted to go further and deeper.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] So, I set myself these goals.

Go to the big caves.

The Pearse Resurgence, it's truly legendary amongst cave divers.

If you want to challenge yourself in cave diving,

that's the sort of place you want to go.

So, I joined this expedition with two of the cave diving legends,

Dave Apperley from Australia and Rick Stanton from the UK.

And both these guys had this aura about them.

They'd been doing dives well over 100 metres since the late '90s.

They were like these gods of cave diving.

It's such a harsh environment that no amount of people

telling you what it's like is going to get you ready for it.

You just have to experience it.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] intimidating place to be.

You enter this cave which just seems to swallow you as you go into it.

It's black. The walls of this cave are so dark they just soak up your lights.

You come to this abyssal drop which goes over an edge

and drops down to over 100 metres in depth.

But this is just the start of this journey into the depths.

[water gurgling]

[Richard] a bit of a train wreck for me.

[water bubbling]

[Richard] I had a suit flood. I got the bends,

and had to be treated with oxygen on the surface.

My arse had been kicked a bit to be honest.

- [indistinct chatter] - [Richard] The most advanced

diving certification you can get is to 100 metres.

And for many technical divers, that would be the pinnacle

of their diving career, no question.

And so when I saw Rick Stanton with his homemade rebreather,

it looked like something he got from the hardware store…

and he just casually swam down to 177 metres and then back out again.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] my whole paradigm

about what is possible in a cave.

That was the trigger for me really wanting to be an explorer like those guys.

[water splashing]

- Well, she goes deep. - [all cheering]

I thought I was a competent cave diver, but I was just at the beginning.

[Richard] Day four in the Pearse Resurgence, Rick…

[all laughing]

- [David] Oh, sorry, you're rolling. - [all laughing]

[Richard] The divers you're diving with, some of the best you've seen

- or how would you rate them? - [laughs]

Yeah, they're the greatest divers I've ever had the pleasure

of diving with.

[Richard] I walked away from that expedition

with my tail between my legs…

but I could not stop thinking about that cave.

So the following year I went back.

I only had two friends to come with me.

This was by far the most ambitious dive that I had ever attempted…

but it became a challenge that I knew I just had to complete.

Can I be as good a diver as Rick?

- [dramatic music playing] - [Richard]

Can I go even a little bit further?

I remember very clearly scootering down that tunnel.

[water gurgling]

[Richard]

And there it is. It's tied off to this rock.

And I realised that when I go past that point,

I've gone the furthest into this cave that anyone's been before.

And suddenly it's like, you know, there be dragons.

Who knows what dangers and threats lurk down there.

And I ended up doing a dive down to 182 metres.

[soft music playing]

- [water splashes] - [man laughs]

How about a smile for the camera, Dr Harris?

[Richard] And I guess that's the first time

that I started to feel like maybe I am worthy

of rubbing shoulders with guys like this.

But that feeling wears off.

So then you need to go and reprove it to yourself…

Or I do.

- [dramatic music playing] - [helicopter blades whirring]

[Richard] I became just obsessed with going back.

[helicopter blades whirring]

[Richard] that's where Craig Challen

enters the story as a willing accomplice.

That looks fucking awesome coming in there, doesn't it?

- And you think, where are we going? - [Richard] What's your first impression?

[Craig] I want to go and have a look at the hole.

[Richard] this whole process of repeated expeditions

back to the Pearse Resurgence.

The next five trips or so, the map starts to evolve

as we explore and find more and more of this cave.

[dramatic music playing]

So the Pearse Resurgence has really become a career defining dive and site,

I think, for both Harry and myself.

The big deal about this cave, of course, is the depth.

I thought that maybe I would do a 100 metre dive one day.

And now we're diving beyond 200 metres…

and we're not done with it yet.

[water gurgling]

[Richard] to reach the point…

where I'm questioning the safety of these deep dives.

At extremely deep depths, the gas you're breathing becomes very dense,

hard to breathe.

And the deeper you go, the worse that gets.

So suddenly you find you can't get enough air into your lungs.

And the second problem is that you get a neurological impairment,

the high-pressure neurological syndrome.

Which is caused simply by pressure…

which can manifest as quite bad tremors or shakes

that makes it hard to do anything.

[Richard] I get to about 180 metres in the caves

and just starts as this very fine tremor…

and becomes more and more disabling the deeper we go.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] it's quite frightening.

People have died because of this syndrome.

If there's any chance of getting deep, I mean really deep in this cave,

then we're going to have to do something different.

[Craig] we need to find a gas that's light

and that has slight narcotic properties to reduce those tremors.

The only gas that fits that description…

is hydrogen

[stopwatch ticks, clicks]

[Richard] that in the '80s and early '90s

there was a big investigation into hydrogen diving.

And I started to obsess about it a little bit.

[man 2] hydrogen diving undertaken since 1983

has demonstrated the advantageous properties of this gas…

[Richard] And in the end they abandoned the program

because they couldn't overcome the risks.

But I thought this could be the solution we're looking for.

And I started to talk to Craig about it.

I've got to say that I wasn't particularly looking forward to the gas mixing.

And the combining of the hydrogen with oxygen

- didn't turn me on too much. - Yes…

diving with hydrogen does scare me.

[man 3] from Frankfurt,

the Hindenburg approaches New York City.

Inside are 16 gas cells.

Each filled with hydrogen, a highly inflammable gas.

[Simon] If you don't handle it correctly…

then it can cause problems in that regard. It can explode.

- [explosion] - [indistinct chatter]

And how much experience have we had handling hydrogen? Zero.

[gas tank hissing]

[Richard] of the breathing mixture

above 4% will cause instantaneous combustion.

So you can imagine a diver switching to the wrong gas

or a change in his oxygen content

and basically his lungs exploding underwater.

[water gurgling]

[Richard] going to get deeper in this cave,

that's the only solution we have available to us.

[Craig] We don't really know if the risks involved

are worth it for the benefit that we're going to get.

But there's only one way to find out.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] and use hydrogen as a breathing gas.

[Craig] for deep diving like this by anyone.

It's never been used by technical divers using rebreathers, ever

We have little choice but to essentially set ourselves up as guinea pigs.

[Simon]

It'd be good if there was some sure way of making certain

that we couldn't be on the wrong gas.

Well, we know we're on the right one to start with. There's only one way to go.

[Craig] Personally it wouldn't be my choice.

I think there are significant risks associated with it.

Good idea?

- Yeah it's a good idea for you. - [all laughing]

[Richard] such a massive undertaking,

as a solo operator, you have to be part of a team.

And cave diving has its characters,

not necessarily the sort of people you'd find on a rugby team.

[Ken] who get into cave diving

tend to be slight loners.

Look, we're a bit nerdy I think.

There's some very big intellects in our group.

- [water rustling] - [Craig]

and self-reliant.

- It's all rigged up for you now anyway. - [indistinct chatter]

[Craig] You know, if you get it, you get it.

[Richard] of all these expeditions

we've got this amazing team that's grown around the mission to dive this cave.

We've called ourselves the Wetmills, sort of stubborn and often wet and miserable

and often carrying very heavy things through these caves.

[Craig] an elite amongst divers.

[Richard] have number of very strict rules.

The first one is have fun, don't die, safety third…

- -[water splashing]

Ken's our resident boffin. He's the best.

[Ken] People think I'm a bit on the spectrum.

Yes, I guess I'm a bit of a technical nerd. I like electronics.

[Richard] Professor of Anaesthesiology,

which kind of tells you what you need to know.

Planet-sized brain, world expert in diving medicine,

one of the most experienced, if not the most experienced divers in the team.

Luke Nelson, super hard work unit, like he's always fixing tinkering.

You don't know your stuff's broken until he comes and tells you that he's fixed it.

Big Dave Hurst, I reckon he is the most naturally talented diver

- -Happy as ready to roll, yeah.

[Richard] as he has become known

in the presence of Big Dave Hurst, hardcore.

He's one of the most physically and mentally tough guys I know.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] this bunch of people have become

the most important people in my life.

[indistinct chatter]

[birds chirping]

[Ken]

that some of the other deep caves don't have.

[Simon] that it's six degree water,

and it's six degrees all year round.

It doesn't matter whether it's the middle of summer or the middle of winter.

[Craig]

[water splashing]

[Craig]

[man 4] Is it warmer?

What?

[Ken] The trouble with getting cold on a dive is that it's uncomfortable.

It also gives you a sense of apprehension,

you know, once you start feeling cold, you start to get anxious.

[Richard] are these heated dry suits.

It's a hot and sweaty business.

[Richard]

they work so long as they don't leak…

but if you get to the deepest part of the dive and your dry suit floods,

- -[water gurgling]

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] If you do a really deep dive, you can't just return

straight back up to the surface.

If you bolt to the surface, you basically fill up with bubbles

and they destroy your brain, your spinal cord,

you have a heart attack, block your lungs so you suffocate.

It's a particularly violent and horrible death.

So you have to stop along the way and decompress.

[dramatic music playing]

[Craig] somewhere between 13 and 16 hours long

because of the decompression requirement.

You can't spend that amount of time submerged in the water.

[Richard] habitats in the cave.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] as little places to stop and rest

on the way back up to the surface while we're doing decompression stops.

First habitat is at seven metres.

The second habitat is at 16 metres and then 28 metres

and then the final one is at 40 metres.

So, as we say, if you do the crime, you have to do the time.

If you do the depth, you have to do the time to come back to the surface.

[Craig]

[water bubbling]

[Craig] We can hop up into them…

sit there and do the time in there.

But if you are down in one of those habitats

and you've still got hours of decompression ahead of you,

if something goes wrong, you're going to have to deal with it down there.

There is no chance of going straight back to the surface and surviving.

- [Richard] The code… - [indistinct chatter]

…when we arrive at a depth,

we do two short buzzers just to attract their attention

and then we do a very long one so they can look at the gauge on the M-meter,

which actually, because of the resistance of the wire and the length of the wire,

tells them what depth we're at.

That's a Ken Smith invention, of course.

Two beeps is, are you okay? Yes, we're okay.

Three beeps means we're okay, but wouldn't mind seeing someone

because we've got an issue or a question or we need some food.

We need a visit, basically.

And lots of dashes just get down here now, we've got a problem.

So, never used that one and never want to.

Right, just write this in the other habitat.

[indistinct chatter]

Do you reckon you could do a quick trip to the 18 again and buzz me again?

Give me two or three buzzers and I'll give you two or three.

[machine beeping]

[machine beeping]

[Richard] put in there, set up, tested.

A little bit of adjusting, tweaking.

So any tweaking needs to be directed by the powers that be.

[laughter] We'll get it sorted out, though.

[Simon] at the same time as the deep divers

are testing their diving equipment.

[Richard] the hydrogen until the big dive…

Craig and I like to get well ahead of the game

by doing increasingly deep dives every single day,

until we both reach the point that we've gone deep enough

to start to feel completely comfortable.

- Is that a pink helmet? - [Craig] Eh?

- Is that a pink helmet? - No, that's a red helmet.

[Richard] how long that takes exactly,

but there's suddenly a moment where we both go, "I'm ready."

- Well because it's not full of air yet. - [cylinders thudding]

[Craig] Oh, yeah.

- Can only get bigger. - [water rustling]

You want me to get out of your way?

- [Craig] No, I don't mind. - I'm going to go out that way.

That's what I'm going to do.

Really? Well, I should be there and you should be here.

[Richard] are very different people.

He's very much his own man.

He doesn't seem to suffer the effects of any kind of slights or insults.

He doesn't take stuff personally.

We argued quite a bit, but it's more of an intellectual level,

which is disadvantage for me because he is so smart.

Arguing with him is usually futile.

- [dramatic music playing] - [water gurgling]

[Richard] this passion for depth.

Which is kind of weird and hard to understand.

We've had a couple of occasions where we've had really close calls,

within moments of drowning, I would say.

And when things like that happen to you in the cave,

you can't help but kind of build a trust, almost an unspoken bond.

[Richard] Sorry, Craig, I can't give it to you.

No, that's all right.

[Richard] Oh, it's definitely cold.

[Craig] how I'd really describe…

Harry, it's difficult for me to be objective about that.

We've spent so much time together as, you know,

I suppose I could say he's my best mate.

We have more or less the same outlook in the world,

and that's what's made it a really good partnership.

You know, we act as foils to each other.

Okay, this is a bit dodgy…

[Richard] Can't be any worse than your last suggestion.

I thought your other suggestion of disconnecting any form of oxygen

was a really bad one.

I wish I could be tougher like him,

but on the other hand, there are things I think I bring to the friendship,

which he could benefit from a little bit more of the,

you know, the soft touch, little a bit more emotion.

Yep, that's it there.

- [Richard] That thing? - Yep.

- That thing? This thing? - No, no, no.

That's the actual switch…

and these are the contacts. So we're going to need a wire.

- Hooray! Manual! Hooray! - Oh! Manual! Oh!

- Here he is. See how friendly he is now? - Yeah.

- Now we've got a trusted bond. - Has he spotted those two corn chips

- by your foot, yeah? - I think he has.

And there's no dramas here, mate.

- You're amongst friends. - [laughs]

[dramatic music]

[cutlery clattering]

[indistinct chatter]

All right, time to fill up these hydrogen cylinders.

Been a lot of talk, time for action, I think.

We use this booster, which is like a pump…

but the gases inside the booster get really highly compressed,

to which it can generate heat.

And, you know, heat can be bad with hydrogen.

Also bad with oxygen, and we boost oxygen very safely.

So I'm sort of on a theoretical basis, I'm confident it should be all right.

It's just we've never done it before, so…

Just that little, you know, question mark in your brain.

Is this a smart thing to do?

Well, the answer to that is probably no, but is it a safe enough thing to do?

And I guess we're about to find out.

Perhaps you want to just move back a little bit, just in case

it's not a smart thing to do.

- [water rustling] - [birds chirping]

Boosting!

Boosting hydrogen!

[dramatic music playing]

[Simon] I mean, one can only interpret

what we're doing here as an experimental dive.

It's informed risk acceptance, and…

the difficulty in balancing those risks is that we don't really understand

the magnitude of any of them.

So it's something of a crapshoot, actually.

And look, it's the essence of exploration.

I mean, Edmund Hillary, when he first climbed Everest,

knew he could die. Well…

these guys know that that's a potential outcome here.

They're not averse to risk.

They're not inexperienced at managing it.

I mean, look at what they did in Thailand.

- [dramatic music playing] - [whistling]

[Simon] the courage to do what he did.

He was definitely the right man for that job.

[reporter 9] with the intensifying rescue operation

to free 12 boys from a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.

[reporter 10] more than two weeks ago.

[reporter 11] they are still a long way from safe.

[Richard] That's when I got a phone call from Rick Stanton.

Back in 2007, of course, I had no idea that nearly 11 years later,

I'd be meeting Rick Stanton again at the Thai Cave Rescue.

He had come up with this crazy idea.

Could you sedate these kids or anaesthetise them

to bring them out of the cave so that they wouldn't panic?

It's extraordinary, really, that there was ever a situation where you needed

a cave diving anaesthetist, but that's what happened.

[reporter 12] with diving experience

is amongst the Australians…

[reporter 13] Adelaide doctor is at the front line

of the delicate rescue…

Any situation where you are trying to manage someone underwater

who is unconscious, is extremely dangerous.

[Richard] I don't think you need to be an anaesthetist

or a cave diver to realise that they could easily drown inside their mask.

And you wouldn't know about that because they'd be unconscious.

I knew that if I had to go over there, I needed a trusted ally.

We'd been told that these boys didn't even know how to swim.

They were 2.2 kilometres in the cave.

Diving 13 people out of that cave in zero visibility, unconscious,

for three hours, and not one of them having their mask knocked off.

I was sure that if we did this, we'd essentially be euthanising

all of those 13 boys.

[Simon] And what you have to understand about Thailand

is that we view it through a lens where we know the outcome.

It's very, very difficult to insert yourself

into the situation that Harry was in when he contemplated

anaesthetising those children.

They fully expected that some of them would die.

[reporter 14] work out the exact details of the rescue,

the relatives can only watch and wait anxiously…

[Simon] that would be hanging around

Harry's neck for the rest of his life.

He would forever have been known as the doctor who killed the children.

[Richard] At the end of the day…

what are you going to do? Are you going to…

give the kids a one in a million chance at coming out alive

and return them to their parents?

We had to give it a try.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter 15] now that's been coming into us

within the last few minutes.

And it's good news. All 12 boys and their soccer coach…

…have just been brought out of the cave…

[crowd cheering]

…remarkable operation. It has never been attempted

- by anyone anywhere… - [in Foreign language]

[Simon] What Harry did with those kids in Thailand…

is the gutsiest thing I've ever seen in medicine.

- [ambulance siren blaring] - [crowd cheering]

[Richard] The feeling was just incredible. I could not believe we'd pulled it off.

In that moment I took great pleasure in the thought

that I'll be able to tell both my wife Fiona and my father

that this hobby that I've been so invested in

for all these years had finally paid off.

And no more criticism could be forthcoming.

[uplifting music playing]

- [water rustling] - [birds chirping]

[Richard] when I was with those kids.

When you're a doctor, you look after the patient in front of you.

[indistinct chatter]

[Richard] The ability to stay calm under pressure is definitely an asset.

And it's been an asset for me as a cave diver, as an anaesthetist.

[Fiona] There's not a lot of cave diving accidents.

You die or you don't.

[Craig] I had some friends that have died over the years.

You have to recognise that you're going into a hostile environment.

You're on?

[Craig] I often lend some thought

to what it's like in those last moments.

[water gurgling]

[Craig] There's no more visceral urge for survival than the urge to breathe.

If you get yourself into trouble and you panic…

you lose the ability to think logically.

But in that moment…

- [water gurgling] - [diver panting]

…your best chance of survival is keeping panic as far away as possible

for as long as possible.

If you panic, then you are going to die.

- [dramatic music playing] - [water gurgling]

[Richard] the Nightmare Crescent…

down to 18 metres.

And I go over the lip of this balcony and I look down

into the very, very deep shaft that drops all the way down to 105 metres.

As I tilt my head down to look, I suddenly have a mouthful of water

mixed with the CO2 extracting powder.

And what we call a caustic cocktail.

And that is like sucking on bleach.

- -[button clicking]

…wash my mouth out with water.

I'm starting to sink down the shaft as this is happening.

[mumbles]

[Richard] the second rebreather was already flooded.

And in panic it's just moments away.

And I turn around towards the exit, but the exit is 50 metres from where I am.

So there's this moment where you know in the next five seconds

you have to find a solution.

And no one can help you in that situation.

Having a buddy right next to you, under water,

they can't do anything for you.

[water gurgling]

[Richard] for my final back up,

which is a normal scuba regulator.

[water bubbling]

[Richard] that it's working.

[engine whirring]

- [man 5] Welcome back. - [Richard] Thank you.

- [man 5] A good dive? - Average.

[soft music playing]

I think I've mentioned, you know, I just need a certain number

of perfect dives done before I'm happy to do the exploratory dive.

And that has remained elusive. I have not had one single dive yet

that I've been a 100% happy.

[Ken] puts you in a position

where you're less capable of handling the next problem.

Even though you may not realise that you're getting a little bit rattled.

And so if three things go wrong…

time to go home and come back another day.

No problems for me. It's really good.

That seems to be the recurring theme of this trip, really

[man 5] It does. Why is that?

Oh, Harry doesn't look after his shit properly.

That's why.

Just needs to take more care.

- [water rustling] - [birds chirping]

[Richard] I'm quite a careful chap.

But you're not diligent like me, are you?

[Richard] Well, I've even got a checklist, Craig.

Doesn't work if you don't look at it, Harry.

[Richard] I played with this hose. I took that hose on and off.

[Big Dave] It will be coming in there, guarantee.

[Richard] Oh, come on. You can't get water in there.

- Are you serious? - [Big Dave] Yeah, it's be a lot of work.

- It'll be coming in there. Yeah. - [Richard] You sure?

[Big Dave] 100%, that's where it's coming in.

Because I've had split mouthpieces, and that is exactly what happens.

[Craig] Don't you listen to him, Harry.

- Fucking lightweight. - [Richard] What do you think it is?

Something else.

[dramatic music playing]

- [Craig] Welcome back. - Thank you.

Everything seems to work today.

I think Dave Hurst might just be a genius.

[Craig] Dave Hurst might be a genius. Why?

[Richard] A genius bloke.

Yeah, but why?

For diagnosing the leak.

- [Craig] What leak? - In my rear breather.

[Craig] Oh, that's what it was?

Well it seems to be fixed.

[man 6] So no problems?

Oh a few little problems.

I've got a sticky oxygen valve

and my heating in the suit stopped working.

So I got a bit cold.

It's all wet.

[Richard] a lot more little equipment failures

than we normally do.

Craig is getting dry suit leaks on every dive,

- -[indistinct chatter]

[Richard] about holding things up

with my rebreather problems, but now…

Craig has fallen behind. He's having problems with his suit,

and he has not tested that extra hydrogen cylinder set up at all.

You would want to see completion of two or three dives

with no dry suit leaks before the big dive can go ahead.

[Craig] Does it look like we're having quite a good time?

- [Richard] I can't tell yet. - What did you say?

- [Richard] I can't tell. - Neither can we.

- [air hissing] - [cylinder clattering]

[Craig] I can't keep getting wet like this. This is…

tolerable for these dives, but not for the big dive.

You really do wonder why you're doing this.

Sometimes when you're going through this you think,

"I could just be diving a nice tropical reef now".

- See you all tomorrow. - [indistinct chatter]

- [dramatic music playing] - [water gurgling]

[indistinct chatter]

- [man 5] How'd you go, Harry? Good dive. - Yeah, it was fine. No dramas.

[man 5] That's excellent news.

Not sure my friend Craig would say the same.

- [man 5] Oh, really? - Yeah.

- Got some technical problems. - [man 5] Oh, man.

Yeah.

- [man 5] Not what we want. - It's not good for.

Going to put this dive in jeopardy with all these issues.

Get one bloke fixed…

another bloke…

falls apart.

[Craig] technical diving is a little bit better

in the retelling than in the actual doing it.

[birds chirping]

[Ken] Harry and Craig are definitely under pressure.

Maybe they should consider not diving.

But the pressure on them, of course, is that they've come all this way,

they've fed all this money.

They've brought all these people out here to help them.

Seventeen hours until we're meant to leave on the dive.

Stuff still to do.

- I need a cup of hot water. - [man 5] Are problems still arising?

Problems still arising.

- [dramatic music playing] - [birds chirping]

[Craig] they wear you down psychologically.

Everybody's put so much effort into being here.

The whole trip, our whole purpose has been leading towards this one day.

And I can't escape the feeling that I'm letting everybody down.

You've got to have a super positive attitude

if you're going to undertake these dives.

You can't do a dive to that depth unless you're in the right headspace.

So tomorrow…

- What are you thinking? - Don't fucking interrupt.

- Now? - Do not interrupt.

- What you're about to say? - Yes.

[Richard] No, okay, go.

So…

firstly…

if I was looking at somebody else that had an accident…

and in the lead up to the dive, that had all the problems…

and then, you know,

I don't think I'm in a tip-top frame of mind about it.

It's just…

And, you know, I feel like I have…

come here half-assed…

not properly prepared.

I could make all the excuses about being too busy,

you know, about all that shit. But it hasn't been enough of a priority.

The gear wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. I haven't been diving.

[Richard] Yep.

I've just fucked it up and…

But anyway, as far as diving tomorrow…

I don't know. I…

Being as objective as I can…

that leads to the conclusion that I shouldn't do the dive.

However…

the problem is that…

if I don't give it a crack, I will feel like I've let…

everyone down.

Really.

So I'm not quite sure what my bottom line is.

Well my perspective is basically all the same things you've just said.

So just speaking about what's been going on with you, you just…

I don't think you've done the dive, that final dive or two that have all…

It's all come together and it's all worked.

So I agree.

I don't think it's the right time.

- [dramatic music playing] - [birds chirping]

[Richard] the time underwater.

He hasn't tested the hydrogen equipment at all.

And he just is not ready to do this dive.

For the first time that I've heard,

he has actually said he's not prepared to proceed with it.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] an accident by him

on my conscience because this is my idea.

There are some real risks here that we haven't faced before.

And so if he's not a 100% in the right headspace to do it…

then I'm happier that he's stopped.

Well, Smithers…

it's another fine mess.

- Does that tank need to come out? - [indistinct chatter]

[Richard] am I going to do a solo dive without him?

[man 5] Do you have the initial gut instinct

of whether you would go solo or not?

I need to think about it. Yeah.

I mean, I don't mind diving by myself, but I just need to really run through

the whole dive in my mind and see if there's any scenarios where…

that makes it a really bad idea. And I'll talk to these guys.

[man 5] Big decision.

It is a big decision. It is a big decision.

Risk-taking and challenging myself with goals.

It's a dangerous game to play because you're never satisfied.

What is it that makes me continue with this selfish pursuit

when I know what the cost is…

to my wife in particular?

[Fiona] They should know when enough's enough.

[indistinct chatter]

[Fiona]

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] I've got the answer for that.

It's something deep inside me that I can't…

It's like an addiction, I guess. You know, you can be logical about it,

but that's different to actually stopping and walking away from it.

I've just got a couple more boxes to tick.

[Fiona] I feel a lot better knowing Simon's with them.

He's sensible.

He knows his stuff.

He's kind. Harry respects him.

Harry might listen to him.

I try not to let…

my mind run away with me.

But if…

if I was to get a phone call… [sobs]

…it might as well be from Simon.

[Richard] Either I do this dive by myself…

or we call the whole thing off.

- [animal howling] - [dramatic music playing]

[reporter 16] now that's been coming into us

- -[reporter 17]

- -[reporter 18]

- [indistinct chatter] - [ambulance siren blaring]

[Richard]

finally we're coming out into the moonlight.

- [camera shutter clicking] - [Richard] This enormous crowd,

thousands of people just cheering and clapping.

It was the most joyous event.

And, I give Fiona a call.

I spoke for ten minutes without barely drawing a breath.

And finally there's this pause.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] "I've got something terrible to tell you".

"Your dad's just died".

Basically just keeled over dead that very afternoon,

probably about the same time as the last boy came out of that cave.

- [ambulance siren blaring] - And I just sobbed.

[sombre music playing]

[Richard] Absolutely adored him. He was a bit of a hero to me.

One person I would have really loved to tell about this adventure

was my father and that wasn't going to be possible.

And so it was a confronting time coming back from Thailand

to face all this scrutiny when I just wanted to be with my family.

Dr Harris is an extraordinary Australian

and he has certainly made a big difference to the rescue effort.

[Richard] on the Nullarbor for a couple of weeks,

assuming that by the time we got back it would all have died down.

Dr Harris there?

[Richard] it had only got worse.

Those kids were in great hands.

[Richard] for a few weeks in Canada,

- came back, it was worse again. - He should be Australian of the Year.

[Richard] to continue our strategy

of hiding underground.

- Welcome Dr Richard Harris. - [audience applauding]

There wouldn't be an Australian amongst us who wouldn't agree.

They are so well deserving. Congratulations Dr Richard Harris

and Dr Craig Tellen.

I'm not quite sure why the spotlight has shone on us a pair…

I was reluctant to accept that we were heroes

or that we'd done something brave or courageous in this situation.

- I just didn't feel like I deserved it. - [audience clapping]

[Richard] well obviously anxiety is not an issue

for that guy.

But I do suffer some anxiety, proper anxiety

and I've never really spoken about that to be honest.

I've never felt very confident as a person.

[crickets chirping]

[Richard] I put my head under water,

there's none of that self-doubt, there's none of that anxiety.

Everything feels much more under control in the caves.

[people chatting, crickets chirping]

[man 5] Are you joking?

He's going to go.

[dramatic music playing]

[speaking indistinctly]

[speaking indistinctly]

- Do you want the glasses on? - [Richard] Yeah, glasses on.

[Ken] worried about how Harry will go

when he gets down there to 200 metres and suddenly changes the valve,

stops breathing a helium mixture and starts breathing a hydrogen mixture.

[Simon] I've often thought to myself…

if I could wave a magic wand and stop Harry from doing this,

I probably would.

Are we just pushing our luck?

Are we just going to ride this until something bad happens?

All right, Kenny?

Ken?

[Richard] when I'm hitting the water.

- You good today? - [Craig] Well done, pumps the right side.

[Richard]

[Craig] Maybe a little bit tighter.

Craig, are you going to take the cylinders all attached today?

- [Craig] Sorry? - You'll take the cylinders all attached?

I'll just be down at the six metres for a second, then I'll be off.

Have a good day.

- [Simon] Have fun. - Try not to worry, Simon.

[all laughing]

[dramatic music playing]

So…

[man 5] So, what's the window where we're kind of…

- estimating to hear the buzzer? - Seventy to 100 minutes.

- Yeah. - [indistinct chatter]

Last time it was 60 minutes, but that was a shallower dive, obviously.

- [man 5] Hey? - [Craig] Got lights.

[man 5] We've got lights.

[Simon] That's unbelievable.

[man 5] So, he's been down for about 15 or so minutes yeah?

He's been down 20, just over 21 minutes, 23 seconds.

Well, just when you thought you'd seen it all…

my primary handset flooded.

No.

I think I'll give up.

[dramatic music playing]

Anyway…

I don't think I've got any more solutions for this dive.

I've never seen that before.

Well, whatever happens, you're going to need

- to come and get out of that suit and… - I know.

[Richard] We've failed to test the hydrogen.

We've failed to explore the cave. I've failed to dive with my mate Craig.

We've put aside three whole weeks for this expedition,

longer than we've ever been there before, and we have achieved absolutely nothing.

Well, we're about as useful as each other, Harris.

Yes.

I'm going to go home to tell Fiona that

not only have I buggered off for three weeks

and put her through all this stress, but I've got nothing to show for it.

So I feel like I've let her down as well.

[indistinct chatter]

Yeah, starting to feel not very sensible now.

[dramatic music playing]

Just so fucked off right now.

Which is also not a great way to go diving.

Yeah.

[Richard] I'm all out of options.

Just chill for five minutes, Harry.

And suddenly Craig's there next to me, and he's piping up, saying…

"Maybe tomorrow we could have another go, and maybe I can come with you this time".

[Craig]

But I think…

the situation that applied to you yesterday

really still applies to you today, doesn't it, Craig?

You still haven't…

[Craig]

[all laughing]

My suit and my heating are fine now, I know that.

We've got a little bit of work to do, but…

I could do it.

And that's the moment when I just… Everything seemed to change.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] I can get so fixated on my own goals.

Sometimes I forget that I'm part of a team.

It's a sublime feeling to have these good friends around you

who just want to help you succeed.

[Craig] in how quickly

the dynamics of the team can change.

[Richard]

and Craig is going to be like a control.

[Craig] and observer for Harry.

[Ken]

because they'll be back diving as a buddy pair.

And if he should explode, then I'll just pick up as many pieces

as I can to bring them back home.

[birds chirping]

[Richard] And we're up at 5:00 am again today,

and I'm actually feeling much more relaxed

than I was when I was doing this dive by myself.

- [dramatic music] - [indistinct chatter]

[Richard] I don't want to look anyone in the eye.

I just want to be alone with my thoughts.

[Simon] is that they will not push

more than 20 metres deeper than they went last time.

So 230 metres will be the deepest depth.

[Craig] the little issues that have been occurring

during the expedition.

And my fear is that there will be some unanticipated complication.

My other fear is what's going to happen when Harry goes on hydrogen at 200 metres.

The last thing we want is for Harry to have lung complications

when he's got a 13-hour decompression ahead of him.

If something like that were to happen, of course…

it would likely be fatal.

[indistinct chatter]

You want this on?

Yeah, everything on, all the way.

[dramatic music playing]

[man 7] anything goes wrong.

There's no possible chance of a rescue.

They have both said that they never want anyone to risk their life to…

get their body back.

[Simon]

it's massive responsibility with no options for intervention.

[Ken] So they'll be halfway down over halfway down now?

- Over half… 18 minutes, 22 seconds. So… - [Ken] Okay.

…they'll be not far off Harry going on hydrogen now.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] past 180 metres,

I start to become aware of the tremor that I normally get.

We get to 200 metres.

This is it. This is the moment of truth.

I reach down to change the switch and my hands are shaking.

I turn the switch to hydrogen.

Those first few cautious sips on the hydrogen…

are a pretty intimidating moment, I have to admit.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard]

I haven't blown up, I haven't died.

So I give Craig the okay sign, off we go.

And I'm watching Craig

with real interest as he ties off the final tie off at 230 metres.

And I'm looking at his hands and they're just trembling a little bit.

And I remember holding up my own hands and going…

there's no shaking whatsoever, I'm cured.

I was bloody right, this is working

and it's doing everything it's supposed to.

I just felt so good and this hydrogen was working so well,

I just had a sense that we could have gone to an extreme depth

without any problems.

I look at Craig, he looks at me and we just know what we're thinking.

The temptation to go deeper at this point is overwhelming.

But we've got at least 12 hours of decompression ahead of us.

We've made a clear promise to the team on top

that we will only go to 230 metres.

And so I say Craig, we've got to go.

I'm already thinking about coming back the following year,

especially now I've got this new secret weapon.

At this point everything has gone exactly according to plan.

[birds chirping]

[machine beeping]

Okay, so that was 37 minutes…

pretty much early…

earlier than we thought, yeah, okay.

So the signal is ambiguous, it's something in between the signal

that everything's okay and that they require assistance.

- So that was 100 metres though? Yeah. - [Ken] That was definitely 100 metres.

We're just trying to estimate when the diver would be back at 40 metres,

which could be several hours without knowing anything.

And then hopefully send a diver down to 40 metres, hoping that

they find someone in the habitat.

- [indistinct chatter] - Big Dave.

Given the ambiguity in that signal,

and it being slightly early…

why don't, just in case they give us another signal

that suggests they need assistance at 60, why don't you just start dressing in?

I know it's a bit of a hassle

- for you, but I… - [Big Dave] Yeah.

…I think they were supposed to give two short pushes in a long,

and it was more like three short pushes.

[machine beeping]

Is someone over there helping Big Dave?

- [man 8] Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah.

Can you just let me know when he hits the water?

We're getting signals that we weren't anticipating

that don't marry up with the very precise plans for signals

and responses to those signals.

[machine beeping]

That's good.

[Simon] to see what's going on.

- [indistinct chatter] - [machine beeping]

- [Ken] What does that mean? - [Simon] I don't know.

[Ken] Does that mean that Dave's transferred into the habitat?

No.

I think we better dress someone else in.

- So, Dave, we just got a signal… - [Little Dave] Yeah, yeah.

- …which we weren't expecting. - [Little Dave] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It sounded almost, it didn't, like, it was three buzzes,

and it was a sort of a longish, so a shortish and a long,

- so it didn't sound purposive. - Yeah, yeah.

But I think we should dress you in.

[Little Dave] We're trying to decipher

whether there's a problem with the comms system and a shorting,

or whether the guys are trying to send us a continuous signal,

- which would mean come and help us out. - [machine beeping]

- He's got a triton with him. - A triton with him. Yeah.

- Craig's triton is flooded. - [Simon] Yeah.

Harry's is working?

- [Big Dave] Harry's is working. - [Simon] Okay.

So they've made it up to the 28-meter habitat,

but Craig's transport rebreather has failed, has flooded,

and he's using open-circuit gas.

That's a problem.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] and we are effectively trapped.

Now, we've got three hours of decompression ahead of us

in this habitat…

and Craig's got nothing to breathe.

[Little Dave] getting them some gas down there.

- -[Simon] There's air in there…

but they'll get CO2, so they can't breathe it for too long.

Yeah, so we'll get you in, take two air cylinders down,

but what they may want us to do is take some nitrops down.

- [water splashing] - [dramatic music playing]

[Little Dave]

It's really tight in these two bottom habitats,

so I can't really get my head in there to be able to talk to them.

So I've passed them up the cylinder.

They don't have a lot of gas down there.

A cylinder at that depth will probably only last 20 minutes tops.

I think the thing to do is to get another 30 mix…

- [John] Yep. - …32, and take it down

and get rid of that 40 mix.

We need to mix more open-circuit gas and deliver it to them quickly.

- [machine beeping] - We're getting some very confusing stuff

from the buzzer, and so it's making it very difficult to coordinate.

Luke is working really hard to try and generate

precisely mixed gas very quickly.

That's an environment where mistakes can easily be made.

[Richard] Right, coming up.

- One more nitrops. Okay, well… - Bloody hell.

They're going through it.

There's a lot of time pressure. I'm finding that incredibly stressful.

We might have to move the whole roster and click around.

[John] Take it with you and clip it on at around 20 metres or something…

Well they won't know it's there, so it's no frickin' use.

[Richard] to do some soul-searching and wonder,

"What am I doing down here"?

"What am I looking for in this cave"?

It occurs to me the strong parallel

between us and those boys in the cave in Thailand,

completely trapped and reliant on other people for our survival.

[dramatic music playing]

[Richard] What was it about those kids that enabled them

to conduct themselves with such incredible dignity and resilience?

They were extraordinary, and that's the thing

that sticks with me from that rescue,

and that's the thing that I think about a lot in my life.

In that moment, I thought…

"Maybe I can be proud of what I achieved in Thailand,

and maybe I deserve to give myself a bit of a break". And…

I've just done…

probably the most significant dive I'm ever going to do.

This is a thing that I can be truly, truly proud of…

And maybe that's enough.

[dramatic music playing]

[Simon] Twenty minutes later than they said it was going to be

- just an hour ago. So… - [Ken] Yeah. Yeah, just an hour ago.

[radio static]

[Simon] Anyone in the habitat? Can you hear me?

[radio static]

- [Simon] Craig, can you hear me? - [radio static]

Hey everybody! Welcome to the 16 meter habitat.

- We're back again, aren't we Craig? - Ah, we are Harry.

[Richard]

They're going to shit on like this for quite a long time.

[Ken] Yeah?

[chatter over radio] of disasters.

We've just have one problem after another, after another.

I wouldn't describe this particular dive as clockwork,

but we got there in the end.

With them in the 16-meter habitat,

talking on the intercom, that's a massive relief.

The 16-meter habitat has got breathable gas.

It's got a CO2 scrubber. We know they're safe.

[Richard] And for the first time, we feel like,

actually, we're going to make it.

The euphoria that surrounds the success of the mission is really sinking in.

It's also this kind of feeling of life and being alive,

having looked a bit of danger in the eye and come through it.

So as soon as you... when you go off comms, just let us know, and we'll de-camp

- and go around to the pond. - [soft music playing]

[Richard]

Okay, see you soon.

As they're arriving at the surface, I'm thinking about how

this is really going to make a mark.

This is something that the diving world is going to sit up and take notice of.

We have come through more adversity on this particular expedition

than we ever did before.

We've shown the way. We've shown it can be done.

[Little Dave] when the guys have communicated

that they're going to come out of the final habitat.

You see those lights.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] the ring of faces

around the entrance pool.

As much as you've been praying for this moment,

suddenly you don't actually want to leave.

This amazing experience that you've just shared with the cave

and with your mate and with the team above,

it's all going to come to an end.

You just think, oh, just keep my head under it

just for another minute, just to... I'm not quite ready to see them.

After all these years of setting myself targets,

this dive feels like…

I've achieved what I set out to achieve all those years ago…

when I didn't feel like I fitted in.

[soft music playing]

[crowd applauding, cheering]

[Richard] this communal sense of achievement

that we have done something really worthwhile.

Everyone's safe. No one's died.

We didn't kill Ken.

Very hard-won effort, but we made it.

[Craig] Good stuff, Simon, well done.

[indistinct chatter]

[Simon] With the hydrogen dive…

we've made an important contribution to future exploration…

I'm very grateful that I was part of it.

[Little Dave] Harry's at the beginning of making something mainstream

that 20 years ago you thought wasn't going to be possible.

[Ken] It may be that this is a turning point in technical diving,

and in 20 years' time, people will still talk about…

the Richard Harris dive and the Pearse Resurgence

as the point where hydrogen diving became a possibility.

[Craig] that any diver would be…

immensely proud of.

The question is…

whether it will be enough for Harry.

- [wind blowing] - [soft music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Richard] has not been conquered.

It hasn't been overcome.

The mystery of the cave still remains,

and it'll be there for the next generation of cave divers.

This cave has been a massive part of my life for the last 16 years.

The breathing was good. I tied off to a bit of Craig's line…

and then turned around and started scootering.

Yep, real's working, and I'm just scootering.

Along this passage, and for a minute, I was having fun.

[all laughing]

[Richard] To walk away from that is difficult…

but I feel an enormous sense of pride and achievement.

I shouldn't need to get to the bottom of a cave

in New Zealand to be okay with who I am.

[helicopter blades whirring]

[Richard] that I've stopped before this killed me.

I know that for a fact, and the same will go for Fiona.

[soft music playing]

[Richard] I've told Craig that I'm not going back to the Pearse.

And I thought he'd be devastated…

but he must have recognised that I was serious.

And you know what he said? He said, "Okay, where are we going"?

[dramatic music playing]

[soft music playing]