PHOTO: Thai-born director Tom Waller on location during the filming of “The Cave” in central Thailand – AFP

A Thai-born director, Tom Waller,  who reportedly took only a few weeks to shoot the first film about the dramatic Tham Luang cave rescue of the Mu Pa football team in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, says his focus was on authenticity and the mission’s “unsung” heroes.

AFP reports that book publishers and Hollywood studios are still  jostling to make their versions of the saga that unfolded in the middle of last year.

Tom Waller says “The Cave”, which is aiming for Thai release for the July anniversary of the operation, will be a “genuine” retelling of the gripping mission to extract the 12 boys and their coach from the waterlogged Tham Luang cave.

Its cast features more than a dozen of the real-life rescue heroes as well as extras such as the cooks who provided food round-the-clock food as officials and the world’s media massed at the cave entrance.

The Thai navy SEALs and Finnish diver Mikko Paasi re-united this week for the first time since July 2018 when the last members of the Mu Pa team were retrieved from the cave complex.

In just another of the dramatic twists and turns throughout the two week search and rescue efforts, just minutes after the last divers emerged, pumps that had been clearing water from the cave failed and floodwaters rushed in, sending clean-up workers running for their lives and forcing them to abandon tonnes of air tanks, pumps, dive equipment, cables and pipes.

Many of the Thai-based divers, rangers, engineers and local volunteers who helped in the international rescue effort, are expected to take part in the clean-up and retrieval project.

Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, one of the 18 international divers, says he’s looking forward to resolving questions that had haunted him since the rescue.

The 43 year old Koh Tao diving instructor, who was one of the many highly-skilled divers helping bring the sedated team members through the most difficult ‘choke points’, says he was forced to double-back during the first rescue after getting stuck.

“Maybe it was five minutes I was stuck there. I don’t know. Time stopped. I really want to see that spot without water in it. That choke-point has been in my dreams.”

A 3 metre bronze statue stands in memory of Saman Gunan, the Thai diver and ex-Navy SEAL who died during the rescue, near the entrance of the Tham Luang caves where a full exhibit and display will open soon to the public.

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Chiang Rai Tourist Police

The Chiang Rai Tourist Police are hunting for a foreign man who was caught on CCTV footage spraying on a wall near the old bus terminal in Chiang Rai.

The northern Tourist Police office yesterday were trying to find the man who is clearly identified on CCTV footage spraying the wall of a restaurant.

Anyone who see this foreign man is asked to call the Chiang Rai Tourist Police on 053 152 547.

A Russian woman, who was caught red-handed spray painting a road in Rawai last month, was caught and fined for her midemeanour. She claimed she was looking for her lost boyfriend.