We don't know if he put anyone in the situation. I mean, sometimes there are just tragic accidents, y'know? I went on field trips to explore caverns with my school when I was the same age as those kids, so it's kind of easy for me to imagine it as a good team-building adventure. It's a popular tourist attraction so there was no reason to expect it wouldn't go well, especially when the team had visited on a prior occasion without anything going wrong. How was anyone to know that it would start flooding? When I go visit popular tourist attractions, I certainly never expect tragic accidents to happen. No matter how alert and responsible you are, you just can't plan for every contingency.
Flash flooding is scary, man. One minute it's fine and the next, there's water pouring in faster than you can think. It's easy to panic, especially when it's dark and you're underground. Throw in eleven kids who are probably freaking out, trying to navigate CAVE systems with probably nothing more than flashlights - it's so easy to get twisted around. There aren't usually signs telling you where to go. All you can think of is getting to higher ground and keeping the group together and the kids are freaking out, but the water keeps rising and you've got to keep going because there's no way to turn back. He might have been the adult - but I don't think very many humans would have been able to handle that situation perfectly.
Everything I've read suggested it was an unexpected accident, and clearly, he did his best. He kept the children alive. He kept them together, made sure no one got serious injured. Even when they found higher ground and were trapped for daaaays while people searched for them, he managed to keep the children calm. He managed to keep them alive without food or water. And flashlights don't last that long. Which means they had to wait in the dark, trapped under the earth. I can't imagine how difficult it would have to be to stay strong in front of all of those kids, not knowing if anyone would find them, but telling them over and over again that it would be okay. But the coach was a young buddhist monk who taught the frightened children to meditate to calm their nerves in the middle of the crisis. He took responsibility for his group in a bad situation, and everyone came through. The children's parents are grateful for the care he took of those children. They regard him as a hero who kept their children alive.
It's easy to want to blame someone when something goes wrong, but everything I've read suggested this wasn't his fault. Monsoon rains came unexpectedly and the exit was trapped. There was no way to get them out that way, even if he wanted to. Several of the kids couldn't swim, and trying to attempt it could have cost all of their lives. All he could do is take the kids deeper into the cave system and pray for the best. People visit those cave systems all of the time. But you cannot control nature. You can't plan on flash flood waters. There is no one to blame here. Tragic accidents happen every day, y'know? Luckily, everyone survived this harrowing ordeal, and if that coach hadn't kept those kids calm and lead them to higher ground, who knows how many lives might have been lost?
