Stick together to get over ordeal, says Beaconsfield mine collapse survivor Todd Russell

THE bond forged by the young Thai soccer players stuck underground for 18 days will hopefully help them through the trauma, says Beaconsfield mine collapse survivor Todd Russell.

THE bond forged by the 12 young Thai soccer players stuck underground for 18 days will hopefully help them through the trauma in coming years, says Beaconsfield mine collapse survivor Todd Russell.

Mr Russell and co-worker Brant Webb were trapped underground for a fortnight in 2006 before rescuers finally broke through solid rock to bring them to the surface.

Tasmanian miners Todd Russell, left, and Brant Webb wave as they emerge from the mine lift having been rescued after being trapped underground at Beaconsfield gold mine for 14 days in 2006. Picture: IAM WALDIE/GETTY

The pair reunited for the filming of the Channel 9 telemovie Beaconsfield.

“The good thing about it is there is a group of boys. I was fortunate I had Brant and Brant had me,” Mr Russell told A Current Affair.

“The idea is if all these guys stick together and as one it makes them a stronger unit and helps them be aware they can help each other through it.”

It brings back a lot of memories of how we went through it and how we worked with our rescuers to get us home safely – Todd Russell

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Australian health experts say the boys may face greater struggles in overcoming any mental scars from their ordeal compared to their physical ailments.

While Thai medical experts have described the boys as “healthy and smiling”, some are suspected of having developed lung infections.

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Australian medical professionals say most people are resilient and bounce back from physically and mentally stressful events like the one endured by the Wild Boars soccer team.

However, some may endure psychological side-effects that will need to be monitored.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor of child trauma and recovery Eva Alisic says the boys may have short-term issues including sleep and concentration problems.

“Other things that could come up is that they think about it all the time, or lose interest in hobbies and become withdrawn,” she said.

“Sometimes people may also avoid things that remind them of what happened and in this case it could be enclosed spaces, but I can’t say for these individual children how they will deal with that.”

Todd Russell says the rescue effort brought back memories of his own experience trapped underground. Picture: Gary Ramage

Mr Russell said watching the rescue unfold brought back the trauma of his time spent underground.

“It brings back a lot of memories of how we went through it and how we worked with our rescuers to get us home safely,” he said.

Mr Russell said the Thai cave rescue also had an effect on his family.

“I spoke to my sister and they were saying how emotional it was for them to see the boys reunited witth their family,” he said.

“Both Brant and I experienced what the Thai boys have experienced now.

“We were six days before we were found alive ... not knowing from one day to the next whether they were coming to rescue us.”

He said that while he and Mr Webb could hear their rescuers moving closer to them, the boys spent a large part of their ordeal not knowing whether rescuers were on the way to retrieve them.

– with AAP