the reassuring words of john volanthen the first contact with the outside world the boys and their coachthan a week. this wasjohn volanthen this morning, helping prepare thai navy seals. the team have been in thailand for several days, chosen for the expertise of low visibility cave dives and specialist knowledge of breathing equipment. john and rick, they are calm, very collected, very organised, extremely disciplined, and consummate professionals. so i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. the british cave divers are volunteers. rick stanton isa divers are volunteers. rick stanton is a retired firefighter from coventry. he was awarded an mbe in 2012 for services to cave diving. john volanthen is an it consultant from bristol. he's been cave diving since he was a teenager. his family have been closely following this rescue. it's a feeling of pride, but tojohn, it'sjust rescue. it's a feeling of pride, but to john, it's just another everyday job. he's quite a private person. if you're a mother, you know what it is like to worry about your children, no matter ho

when rick stanton and his colleague john volanthen emerged from the inky waters two miles from the cavecould hardly believe what they saw. how many of you? 13? brilliant. today, for the first time, he spoke in detail about that moment. we were swimming along an underwater passage, wherever there is a space, we passage, wherever there is a space, we surface, we shout, and also we smell, and in this case we smelt the children before we saw them. slowly, carefully, preparations were made for an operation the thais dubbed mission impossible. we were both aware of the enormity of the task. the visibility in the water is very low, so down to a few inches, there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts. at last, supported by thai college, the british team began their operation, injuring the children and their coach to safety. we packaged their coach to safety. we packaged the children with a buoyancy compensator, a kind of diving jacket, a cylinder on their chest, and this buoyancy compensator, we made it into a harness, and that allowed us to have a single unit, for want of

when rick stanton and his colleague john volanthen emerged from the inky water a mile from the cave entrance miles. believe what they saw. how many of you? 13? brilliant. today for the first time john spoke in detail about that moment. we were swimming along an underwater passage. wherever we surfaced we looked and we smile. in this case we smelt the children before we saw them. slowly and carefully preparations were made for a rescue which the thais dubbed mission impossible. we weren't aware of the enormity of the task. the visibility in the water is very low so varying down to a few inches, there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts. at last, supported by thai colleagues the british team began their operation. 0ne british team began their operation. one by one they inched the children and their coach to safety. we essentially packaged the children with a buoyancy compensator, which with a buevancv cemeensater. which — 7— isa with a buevancv cemeensater. which — 7— is a and this buoyancy compensator we had made into a harness, and that allowed us to have a single uni

the boys were found by two british divers, rick stanton and john volanthen.er. all i knew was last tuesday he had been called to a rescue in thailand, and he asked his brother to ring me and he asked his brother to ring me and tell me he was on his way. since then i have been watching it on the internet. i think it was yesterday, i don't know the day now, it had news breaking and that they had got through to the children which was wonderful. wonderful news the children had been found but it must have been worrying for you watching those stages, as every day went by, thinking about your son and the operation. the weather has not helped at all. when they went up the mountain and started to drill, they seemed pretty certain they were on track and that was how they got in higher up the mountain. yes, i mean, if you are mother you know what it is like to worry about your children, no matter how old you are a. 0nes, always am. children, no matter how old you are a. ones, always am. how does it feel that your boy is going to effectively be held as a hero across the

when two of those divers, rick stanton and his colleague, john volanthen, emerged from the inky waterat they saw. how many of you? 13. 13? brilliant. today, for the first time, john spoke in detail about that moment. we're swimming along an underwater passage, wherever there is an airspace we surface, we shout, and also we smell. and, in this case, we smelt the children before we actually saw or heard them. slowly and carefully, preparations were made for a rescue which the thais dubbed mission impossible. both mick and i were aware of the enormity of the task. the visibility in the water is very low, so varying down to a few inches. there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts. at last, supported by thai colleagues, the british team began their operation. one by one, they inched the children and their coach to safety. we essentially packaged the children with a buoyancy compensator, which is a kind of diving jacket, a cylinder on their chest, and this buoyancy compensator we'd made into a harness, and that allowed us to have a single unit, for want of a better wo

quietly, modestly, with all his diving gear, john volanthen returned to britain. it worked out. ..but playing down what he had done. we're not heroes. what we do is very calculating, very calm, it's quite the opposite. we take it one step at a time and hopefully, as we've managed to in this case, we've come up with a result. and what a result. it was john who found the young footballers in the cave, and then worked with many others to get them out. an extraordinary rescue, the most challenging conditions, a race against time. an international team of military and civilian divers working alongside the thai navy. everybody pulled together, and the results speak for themselves. so we're just very happy that the boys are out and safe. we've got someone who's done something so heroic... pride in the north somerset village where john vola nthen is a scout leader. we teach children as part of the scouts and girl guiding movement to think of others before themselves, to think about the world around them, and he'sjust taken that to the sort of ultimate. there are calls for

one of the british divers who helped out in the rescue, john volanthen has just arrived back in the ukrked out, the results speak for themselves. with the result of an international team of military and civilian divers working alongside the thai navy, everybody pull together and the results speak for themselves. we are happy the boys are out and say. sir christopher meyer — who you saw in our report on donald trump earlier — is in hospital after being attacked at london's victoria station. the former british ambassador to the united states suffered injuries to his eye, nose and lip when he was confronted by a gang of youths yesterday afternoon. ryanair is cancelling 30 flights between ireland and the uk today because of a strike by pilots. talks between management and trade unions to stop the 24—hour walk—out failed yesterday. the irish airlines pilots' association is accusing the company of not taking their concerns over pay and working conditions seriously. the reality tv star kyliejenner is set to become the youngest self—made us billionaire. forbes says the 20—year—old, who is the

john volanthen speaking exclusively to the bbc‘s david garmston.ve outside plans this weekend you will not be disappointed. it looks likely to stay warm and sunny. hot for some. the exception is the far north and west. a week weather front will bring cloud and sherry outbreaks of rain into the west of northern ireland, and the west of scotland, it gradually clouding over the east of scotla nd it gradually clouding over the east of scotland and the border. the maximum will be 82 fahrenheit. that will lead to a one night with temperatures not following fire. mid—teens widely. at the same time the weather front will bring outbreaks of shirley rain into northern ireland, the west of scotla nd northern ireland, the west of scotland and perhaps aberdeenshire by sunday morning. we start sunday with the weather front in the north—west, but for most people, it will be hot and sunny and it will stay like that. whatever doing, enjoy.

when two of those divers, rick stanton and his colleague john volanthen emerged from the inky water aoke about it for the first time. whenever there was a service we shout and also we smell. —— surface. in this case we smelt the children before we actually saw them. slowly and carefully preparations were made for a rescue which the thai stubbed mission impossible. we were aware of the enormity of the task. the depth of the water is very low, varying down to a few inches. there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts. at last, supported by colleagues from thailand, the british team began their operation. one by one they inched the children and their coach to safety. we essentially packaged the children with a pointy compensated, which is kind of a diving jacket, and this pointy compensated, we had made it into a harness. that allowed us to have a single unit, for want of a better word, that was completely self contained —— buoyancy. you had to carry them to the side if it was very low. sometimes it was very narrow and he pushed them in front. it just narrow and he p

john volanthen. immediately. an amazing rescue. john vola nthen. christian, immediately.met the ceos and he has now met the queen. you have done a tour of the queen. you have done a tour of the area. what is your impression of the area. what is your impression of the last couple of days? this is special. this is the closest i have been to a castle in two months, and that includes the royal wedding, so i don't know how i have sneaked under the barrier, but here i am. what in the main event here at windsor, which of course he really wa nted windsor, which of course he really wanted with all of these photographs, absolutely fascinating with all of the protocol that goes with all of the protocol that goes with it. they were slightly on edge because donald trump does like the odd vigorous handshake and he has been known to pick down drop off leader's shoulders, so what would he do when he met the queen? as you can see, he was on his best behaviour. they look a little bit petrified standing next to the queen. the other correspondent who was with me had said that the queen, who

richard stanton and john volanthen, who arrived at the rescue site this morning. ing of this huge rescue operation. it‘s a huge task ahead. what we‘re seeing this morning is the thai navy divers down there, working with the army, working with the huge international team, including these two british divers, who have been absolutely fundamental in using their expertise to find the boys. what they‘re doing today is giving the boys energy sachets, gels, just to sustain them in the first phase. they‘re giving them survival boxes. they‘re down there in this very muddy little shelf, just about a metre above the water level. what they say they‘ll do next is make that area slightly nicerfor them, because they really want to take their time, make sure that they‘re 100% ready to go before they move them out. they want to make sure this is 100% safe, any operation they do, and the third thing they‘re saying they‘re doing is bringing in around four months‘ worth of food. they‘re saying they need that amount of food down there just in case what we see at the moment is rainy seas

the british cave diver john volanthen calling out to the missing group in a cave deep under the mountainsers turned to leave, promising to return with back—up, one of the boys says to them, "please, tell them we're hungry". for the families of the boys, a joyous end to nine agonising days of waiting, hoping and, at times, despairing. translation: today is the best day. i've been waiting for my son for so many days. i'm so excited! the first thing i will do is hug him. and for the thousands of volunteers, officials, climbers and others who've taken part in this extraordinary multinational search operation, a very special moment. most of all for the local governor, who's been the public face of this rescue and ordered officials working on it to think of the boys as their own sons. narongsak osottanakorn described how the boys were discovered and then said simply, "we found our younger brothers, and they were safe". cheering. after thejubilation, now the serious challenge of extracting 12 boys and their coach, weakened by hunger, possibly injured, from caves it had taken experience divers ma

john volanthen is modest about his role.t worked out quite so well. it worked out, the results speak for themselves. how many of you? 13? brilliant! john's was the first voice for boys heard from the outside world after being trapped in this cave for nine days. it was a big moment for him too. we were very relieved that they were all alive but i think, at that point, we realised the enormity of the situation and that's perhaps why it took a while to get them all out. john and another british diver, rick stanton, on the far left, helped prepare the thai navy seals for what would be an ambitious and dangerous mission to retrieve all 13 of those trapped. obviously, flooded, dark, poor visibility underwater, so a lot of difficulty but, with a strong international team, we were able to overcome this difficulties. it was just a lot of hard work and a very large team that provided results. right, guys. i've made a comment now. you've had your word. and with that, john went back to the dayjob — he's an it consultant in bristol. rich

the british cave diver john volanthen calling out to the missing group in a cave deep under the mountainsers turned to leave, promising to return with back—up, one of the boys says to them, "please, tell them we're hungry". for the families of the boys, a joyous end to nine agonising days of waiting, hoping and, at times, despairing. translation: today is the best day. i've been waiting for my son for so many days. i'm so excited! the first thing i will do is hug him. and for the thousands of volunteers, officials, climbers and others who've taken part in this extraordinary multinational search operation, a very special moment. most of all for the local governor, who's been the public face of this rescue and ordered officials working on it to think of the boys as their own sons. narongsak osottanakorn described how the boys were discovered and then said simply, "we found our younger brothers, and they were safe". cheering after the jubilation at the serious challenge of extract thing challenge of extracting the boys and their coach, weakened by hunger, from caves it had taken experience d

john volanthen is an it consultant from bristol. he's been cave diving since he was a teenager. en closely following this rescue. it's a feeling of pride, but to john, it's just another everyday job. he's quite a private person. if you're a mother, you know what it is like to worry about your children, no matter how old you are. once a mum, always a mum. in 2004, the bbc filmed both men as they attempted to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset, where no one has ever gone before. it was an insight into their skills and courage. when people landed on the moon, they had a map, they knew where they were going. but in a cave, if you are beyond the known limit of the cave, nobody knows where it goes and you will never know what will happen round the corner. the british divers are just part of a huge rescue effort, but their experience will now be crucial going forward. daniela relph, bbc news. our correspondent howard johnson is outside the caves and gave us more details about how the rescue might unfold. it's evening here at the cave complex but search and rescue operations are

>>r: that's the vof john volanthen, he and partner rick stanton, pictured here in 2004, may have lookedero, but the 12 boys and their coach knew help had arrived. out of their wetsuits, 47 year old john is an i.t. consultant. 57 year old rick, a retired firefighter. >> when people landed on the moon, they had a map, they knew where they were going. but, in a cave, if you're beyond the known limit of the cave, nobody knows where it goes. you never know what will happen around the corner. >> reporter: together they designed their own equipment and use it to assist rescues in france and even mexico, where rick helped save six people trapped in a cave by teaching some how to dive. it's an achievement later honored by the queen. when the soccer team first went tissing last month, thai officials called on "the a-team" to assist in the search. >> they're very organized, extremely disciplined, and consummate professionals. >> reporter: but this rescue is far from over. jonathan vigliotti, cbs news, london. >> quijano: up next, the wounded warrior who turned tragedy into art. tragedy into art. 1

at home in brighton, the mum of elite diver john volanthen listening again to the moment her son and r, rick stanton, discovered the missing thai boys. well, i'm very proud of him. john is a very kind, modest person and i knew that they would do a good job and i kept my fingers crossed for both of them. cheering all the thai navy seals and the international divers are safely out — mission accomplished before the monsoon rains will flood the caves for months to come. fergus walsh, bbc news. our correspondentjonathan head joins us from chiang rai. he has been monitoring all of these events for us. what can this group of boys now expect over the coming days? well, they are isolated in quarantine. these are very, very precious lives right now and the thai authorities are taking no chances. they didn't even let the pa rents chances. they didn't even let the parents see them, they have only seen them through glass so far. there is nothing wrong with them, they are in remarkably robust health given they staffed nine days and have been in complete darkness and then had the ordeal of the journ

. >> reporter: that is the voice of john volanthen, he and partner rick may have looked and sounded morero, but the boys and their coach knew help had arrived. out of their wetsuits, 47 year old john is an i.t. consultant, 57 year old rick, a retired firefighter, but both are known around the world for their self- taught hobby. considered among the best cave divers on the planet, nicknamed the a-team, is a skill john once compared to space travel. >> when people landed on the moon they had a map. in a cave, if you are beyond the known limit of the cave, nobody knows where it goes, you never know what will happen around the corner. or reporter: together, they designed their own equipment and use it to assist rescues in france and even mexico where rick helped save six people trapped in a cave by teaching some how to dive. it is an achievement later honored by the queen. when the soccer team first went missing last month, thai officials called on the a-team to assist in the search. >> john and rick, they're calm, they're very collected, they're very organized, extremely disciplined and con

co—ordinating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantonarr knows the pair and is an expert himself. he said the operation seemed to be going "very well". he spoke to me earlier. this is absolutely fantastic news. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window... well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you have a torrential downpour, we have seen images of the current in the cave today. that would be a major problem for everyone if that rainfall intensifies in the very near future. for all of us, in fact, for the world, this has been a crash cou

john volanthen, who helped lead them out, said it was a huge relief the boys had all been brought outn returned to britain. praised by strangers. we were pleased it worked out. but playing down what he'd done. we're not heroes. what we do is very calculating, very calm, it's quite the opposite. we take it one step at a time and, hopefully, as we've managed to in this case, we come up with a result. and what a result. how many of you? 13? brilliant. it was john who found the young footballers in the caves and then worked with many others to get them out. an extraordinary rescue, the most challenging conditions, a race against time. an international team of military and civilian divers working alongside the thai navy, and everybody pulled together, and the results speak for themselves. so we're just very happy that the boys are out and safe. we've got someone who's done something so heroic... pride in the north somerset village where john vola nthen is a scout leader. we teach children as part of the scouts and girl guiding movement to think of others before themselves, to think about t

co—ordinating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantonan expert himself. he said the operation seemed to be going "very well. this is what he told my colleague. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window, well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you have a torrential downpour, we have seen images of the current in the cave today. that would be a major problem for everyone if that rainfall intensifies in the very near future. for all of us, in fact, for the world, this has been a crash course in cave diving. we have heard about the treachero

john volanthen — who helped lead them out — said it was a huge relief the boys had all been brought out, modestly, with all his diving gearjohn volanthen returned to britain. praised by strangers. we were pleased it worked out. but playing down what he'd done. we're not heroes. what we do is very calculating, very calm, it's quite the opposite. we take it one step at a time and hopefully, as we've managed to in this case, we come up with a result. and what a result. it was john who found the young footballers in the caves and then worked with many others to get them out. an extraordinary rescue, the most challenging conditions, a race against time. an international team of military and civilian divers working alongside the thai navy and everybody pulled together, and the results speak for themselves. so we're just very happy that the boys are out and safe. we've got someone who's done something so heroic... pride in the north somerset village where john vola nthen is a scout leader. we teach children as part of the scouts and girl guiding movement to think of others before themselves, t

one of the team was a british diver, john volanthen, who decided to speak only to the bbc.david garmston began by asking him about the moment he got the call for an international mission. the answer was expecting unexpected sub was just talk to mama, and you appeared to surface and you appeared to have found them. it was mentioned to have found them. it was mentioned to some the press that it was locked. i would say that is not the case. the procedure is in the situation we are swimming along an underwater passage wherever there is airspace, we surface, we shout, and also smell. and in this case, we smelled the children before we saw them. how many of you? 13? brilliant. what's her chances did you give this operation a success? given the amount of water we saw in the preceding days, it was unbelievable that we had found them and they were all healthy. i think we we re and they were all healthy. i think we were both aware of the enormity of the task. what sort of problems we re of the task. what sort of problems were you facing? the visibility in the water with very low, so

john volanthen was called in by the thai authorities after the football team went missing — and his wasund. it was the result of an international team of military and civilian divers working alongside the thai navy. everybody pulled together and the results speak for themselves. so we're just very happy that the boys are out and safe. we're not heroes. what we do is very calculating, very calm. it's quite the opposite. that's what we do. we take it one step at a time and hopefully, as we've managed to in this case, we've come up with a result. around 200 people have died and dozens more are missing after a week of severe flooding in western japan. rescue workers are still searching through the wreckage of flooded buildings. reports suggest more than 200,000 homes are still without water, a week after the severe weather hit. rupert wingfield—hayes has been to okayama, one of the towns worst affected by the flooding. so this here is the watanabes' house and i'm going to go inside here and show you just the incredible destruction that this sort of flooding, the water, does, to people's hou

now co—ordiating the rescue mission are two british cave diving experts, john volanthen and richard stantong expert and friend of the british pair in thailand is martyn farr, who operates are diving training organisation out of crichhowell near abergavenny. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. what is your initial reaction to the latest development? this is absolutely fantastic news. the boys are starting to come out of the cave. that will be a massive morale booster. it obviously is an indicator that things are going very well at this point in time. clearly it isa well at this point in time. clearly it is a big ask for everyone involved. we all understand how critical this weather window, well, it is shrinking as we speak, but the right people are doing the right things, andi right people are doing the right things, and i am optimistic that things, and i am optimistic that things will carry on like this. you mentioned the weather. clearly you have some reservations. you have the experience. what are your primary concerns? like everyone else watching the programme, we all know that if you h

. >> reporter: that's the voice of john volanthen.r rick stanton seen here in 1994 may have looked and sound mord alien than hero but the 12 boys and their coach knew help had arrived. >> thank you. >> reporter: out of their wetsuits 47-year-old john is an i.t. consultant. 57-year-old rick a retired firefighter. but both are known around the world for their self-taut hobby. considered among the best cave divers on the planet, nicknamed the a-team. it's a skill john once compared to space travel. >> when people landed on the moon, they had a map. they knew where they were going. but in a cave if you're beyond the known limit of a cave, nobody knows where it goes. you never know what will happen around corner. >> reporter: together they designed their own equipment and used it to assist rescues in france and even mexico where rick helped save six people trapped i caveg ve.atie hono by thqun. en the soccer team first went missing last month,i officis call on the a-team to assisarch >> john and rick, you know, they're calm. they're very c

. >> onduk >> reporter: the divers who find the boys, john volanthen and rick stanton, and fellow divers jason mallinson and chris jewell, belong to an elite british cave diving team with unique rescue skills. in thailand, these volunteers, working without pay, come to be known as "the awesome foursome." >> i never had to think for a second about whether i would go. i think it's human nature to know if you've got an ability, then, of course, you will. >> reporter: the boys get food, mres and company. the military doctor join them in the cave for their duration. >> when they got their energy back, the kids cheerfully talked a lot about where they would go, what they would eat, their plans after they get out of the cave. >> reporter: a u.s. air force search and rescue team headed up by major charles hodges and master sergeant derek anderson, joins the effort. >> we came in bringing our military expertise when it comes to operational command and control. when it comes to, kind of, really looking at a problem set and finding what is the risk? what risk are we willing to accept? >> reporter:

british cave divers, richard stanton and john volanthen, the first to reach the boys, are now supportingrescue effort. they were called in by thai authorities for their expertise in high risk cave diving, something on display during their 2004 attempts to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset. those boys have had a hard nine, ten days underground and now they've got the best guys there. so, john and rick, you know, they are calm, they are very collected, they are very organised, extremely disciplined and consummate professionals. i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. with even more heavy rain expected in the coming days, rescuers will have to decide on the best way out. victoria gill, bbc news. what met in a few minutes we will turn to alabama and look at how donald trump putt, in a moment. the uk's royal airforce celebrates its centenary next week with a service at westminster abbey, and a huge flypast over buckingham palace, part of the biggest air display ever seen in london. up to 100 jets, helicopters and aeroplanes from across the different eras o

british cave divers, richard stanton and john volanthen, the first to reach the boys, are now supportingled in by thai authorities for their expertise in high risk cave diving, something on display during their 2004 attempts to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset. those boys have had a hard nine, ten days underground and now they've got the best guys there. so, john and rick you know, they are calm, they are very collected, they are very organised, extremely disciplined and consume it disciplines. —— consummate professionals. i feel confident from this point on that things are going to work. with even more heavy rain expected in the coming days, rescuers will have to decide on the best way out. victoria gill, bbc news. here to look at how the boys and theirfamilies might have been coping with this ordeal is professor lorraine sherr, a clinical pyschologist at ucl. i was just i wasjust thinking, i was just thinking, aside from the immense disorientation of not having a torch and light and all the things you would need in that dark space, there must have been the fear that you are

john volanthen was the first voice the boys heard after nine days trapped in the underground network.g said that, alive in a cave and alive outside of a cave are two very different things. he says he is not a hero but i think that he is. definitely. definitely. sinn fein says an explosive device has been thrown at the house of its former leader gerry adams in west belfast. the attack comes after six nights of violence in londonderry. police blamed it on dissident republicans who are opposed to the peace process. mr adams tweeted that no—one was hurt. police in wiltshire are continuing their search for evidence in the poisoning of a couple with novichok. detectives say the substance which killed dawn sturgess and left charlie rowley in hospital had been in a bottle found at his house. scotland yard says it doesn't know where the bottle came from and says it can't guarantee that there isn't any more of the substance left. a 7—year—old girl from northern ireland has become the first person in the uk to be granted a long—term licence for the use of medicinal cannabis. sophia gibson has a

one of them, john volanthen, has been speaking exclusively to the bbc.t 3pm when i had a call that said i was booked on a 9 o'clock flight to thailand. just talk us through the moment, because we've seen a bit of it on video of when you appeared to surface and you appeared to have found them. we were swimming along an underwater passage. wherever there is air space we surface, we shout, and also, we smell. and in this case, we smelt the children before we actually saw or heard them. what sort of chances did you give this operation of success? well, given the volume of water we'd seen come out of that cave in the last — in the preceding couple of days, it was unbelievable that we'd found them and that they were all healthy. there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts — wire, electrical cable, pumps, tubing, all sorts of things. the cold also was an issue — some of the children were quite small so we were concerned about how well the smaller children would hold up. and when you had to leave them to go and make your plans and so on, ho

one of them, john volanthen, has been speaking exclusively to the bbc.'clock flight to thailand. talk us through the moment because we have seen a bit of it on the video of when you appeared to surface and you appeared to have found them. we were swimming along an underwater passage where ever there is a space we surface, we shout, and also we spell. —— smells. and in this case with the old children before we saw them. —— we smell. what sort of chances did you give this operation of success? given the volume of water which we have thought to the cave in the last couple of days, it was unbelievable that we had found them and they were all healthy, also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts, why, electrical cable, pumps, tubing, all sorts of things. the cold also was an issue, some of the children were quite small and we we re children were quite small and we were concerned about how well the smaller children would hold up. and when you had to leave them to make a plan, how confident are you of seeing them alive again?” plan, how confident are

one of them, john volanthen, has been speaking exclusively to the bbc.have found them. we were swimming along an underwater passage. wherever there is air space we surface, we shout, and also, we smell. and in this case, we smelt the children before we actually saw or heard them. what sort of chances did you give this operation of success? well, given the volume of water we‘d seen come out of that cave in the preceding couple of days, it was unbelievable that we‘d found them and that they were all healthy. there was also a lot of debris in the cave from previous attempts — wire, electrical cable, pumps, tubing, all sorts of things. the cold also was an issue. some of the children were quite small so we were concerned about how well the smaller children would hold up. and when you had to leave them to go and make your plans and so on, how confident were you of seeing them alive again? i made them a promise that i‘d come back, and we did. in fact, we came back with food runs, so completely confident. but having said that, alive in a cave and alive outside

john volanthen is an it consultant from bristol. he's been cave diving since he was a teenager. following this rescue. it's a feeling of pride, but to john, it's just another everyday job. he's quite a private person. if you're a mother, you know what it is like to worry about your children, no matter how old you are. in 2004, the bbc filmed both men as they attempted to reach chamber 26 of wookey hole in somerset, where no one has ever gone before. it was an insight into their skills and courage. when people landed on the moon, they had a map, they knew where they were going. but in a cave, if you are beyond the known limit of the cave, nobody knows where it goes and you will never know what will happen round the corner. the british divers are just part of a huge rescue effort, but their experience will now be crucial going forward. daniela relph, bbc news. a man who accused that there was a paedophile ring in the matter has been charged. he has been charged with 12 counts of perverting the course of justice with 12 counts of perverting the course ofjustice and one count of fra

i spoke tojohn volanthen and jason mallinson and i asked them, actually, whether they felt that — whether there were any moments of doubt in the operation. and johney speak for themselves. the bullies have met their parents. what we are hearing is that they will stay in this hospital for a week and after that the as have said they must stay with their parents in our homes for another week after that. his mother was assassinated in a terrorist attack, his grandfather was executed by a military dictator, but now bilawal bhutto zardari is following in their footsteps — and leading their party's campaign ahead of elections in pakistan at the end of the month. it's not an easyjob. critics say support for the party has dropped over the past decade — as secunder kermani reports. bilawal, the third generation of pakistan's most famous dynasty takes to the streets of. his mother and grandfather both seemed as —— served as good grandfather and he is now emphasising on his party ‘s focus on delivering socialjustice. this is bilawal‘s first election campaign, many have praised his energy, but ever since his mother's death, the party has faced serious challen