It’s heart in throat viewing.

Firstly it was a amazing to hear that the boys (aged between 11 and 16) and their 25-year-old soccer coach were found alive after 10 days missing.

But then the hard part.  Getting them out of the cave alive with the threat of monsoonal rains, and lack of oxygen.

Headlines for the past 48 hours have claimed the “world is watching” as the rescue attempts continued.

At the time of writing, four boys had been rescued.  After about a 12-hour break, the rescue was to continue again. 

Media style guides often tell us to not use the word “miracle”.

The definition, according to the Oxford Dictionary is: an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency.

A second definition links it to the more common use: a remarkable event or development that brings very welcome consequences.

It’s moments like the four soccer players walking out of the cave (and hopefully more to follow) that is a true miracle.

The world is watching on because we are in absolute disbelief.  We were expecting a tragedy.

We had given up that they boys could be found alive.

And then hope came along.  The photo of the boys huddled together in the dark will not easily be forgotten.

For those living in Northern Tasmania, it’s a stark reminder of the Beaconsfield mine rescue 12 years ago.

All hope was lost for the three men, when the body of Larry Knight was found two days after the earthquake that triggered a rockfall.

There were collection tins at the football at York Park that weekend for the three families.

Five days later and our own miracle happened – Brant Webb and Todd Russell were alive.

Fifteen days after the rockfall the two men walked out alive. 

People, around the world, love a good story featuring villains and heroes. In the instance of the Thai rescue, the heroes are rescuers and the rescuees. The villain is the natural elements – rain and oxygen.

Fingers crossed the good guys win.