The rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand is not the first time Dr Richard "Harry" Harris has been involved in a harrowing and difficult cave retrieval mission.

The anaesthetist from Adelaide with more than 30 years of diving experience was specifically requested by British divers participating in the Thai rescue.

His cave diving skills were also called upon in 2011, when he had the difficult task of recovering the body of his friend Agnes Milowka, after she ran out of air in Tank Cave near Mount Gambier in South Australia.

Dr Harris was among the expert cave divers who helped police in the recovery of her body, called upon to assist because of the complexities of the almost eight-kilometre stretch of twisting underwater passages.