Was the wire coming up from the bottom of the picture?

I usually add a bit of fresh real (60/40) solder before unsoldering, on
older boards it cleans off the old joint, allows better/quicker/more even
heat transfer for quicker work. The heat transfer is through the molten
solder over the whole pad and wire, large cross section when fully wetted,
not just the small tip area that has to be forced on the pad with a dry
connection. It also allows the tip to be spun around the wire and hole
without friction on the pad during the suck to get a gap all they way around
the wire. Also I find the tip on the unsoldering tools do not stay well
wetted/tinned. The soldering iron I always add a bit to tin and clean the
tip before use, same for the unsoldering. (if the board has value)

As I look at the pictures I may be able to see the force of the tip are on
the other pads, that may be doing the pulling that removes them.

John