CANBERRA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The nine Australians who were part of the rescue team that saved 12 boys and their football coach from a Thai cave were honoured for their bravery here on Tuesday.
Governor-General Peter Cosgrove presented the nine members of the rescue team with medals of bravery at a ceremony in Canberra.
Perth-based anaesthetist Richard Harris and his dive partner Craig Challen were awarded the Star of Courage, Australia's second highest award for bravery, for their part in freeing the Wild Boars from the Tham Luang cave.
Harris, who abandoned a vacation to join the rescue team, conducted the initial medical assessments of the boys and advised authorities on how to safely extract them while Challen removed their diving equipment once through the flooded section of the cave.
Six members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Special Response Group were awarded the Bravery Medal, as was an officer from the Royal Australian Navy, for their part in the search and rescue mission.
"During the World Cup the most inspiring story about football was not in Russia, it was in Thailand. And the most inspiring teams were not Les Bleus but the Wild Boars, and you," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said at the awards ceremony.
"Your first dives were done without a proper guide rope. There was no defined path through those dark waters. You had to feel your way through the twists and turns of the cave system, with the very real threat all the time of being tangled and trapped."
"It's impossible to overstate how dangerous your task was."
Harris, who was the last person to leave the cave following the rescue, downplayed the role he and Challen played in the rescue, instead emphasizing the efforts of the entire team.
"We just went cave diving for a few days and were able to get the kids out...these awards have been completely unexpected and we're just trying to emphasise how big a part so many people played in this," he said.
"We're not quite sure why the spotlight has shone on us as a pair, but it is all quite exciting, but we just need to get back to work and stop my head swelling and start to relax."
