The Thai Navy SEALs worked with incredible bravery and determination, but they simply weren't equipped to conduct a rescue of this nature. I recall seeing some of the first news footage from the scene, seeing the equipment being used by the Thai divers and thinking "oh shit, these guys are screwed". It was immediately apparent that they were open-water divers operating far beyond the limits of their training. They didn't have sidemount rigs, they didn't have CCRs, they didn't even have proper reels and lights. Frankly, it's a miracle that only one person died.
Stanton and Volanthen actually had to rescue four members of the Thai rescue team, who had fallen asleep in an intermediate chamber and become cut off by flooding. There was no lack of willing on the part of the Thai rescuers, but they simply didn't have the level of expertise necessary to coordinate a rescue of this level of complexity and technical difficulty.
