How they gonna make that rescue happen? Just read that the kids can't swim- let alone what are the odds of teaching them to scuba dive in a weakened condition? And I also read that these are the most experienced cave rescuers in the world -yet it takes them three hours just to reach the kids so imagine how it would be for a first-time diver. And the forecast is for the water to continue to rise. So none of that looks good. Very much on the plus side though, is the fact that humans are incredibly smart when they are not busy being incredibly dumb, so there must be a solution of some sort. But, that bit about teaching them to scuba dive when they have not even learned to swim yet and then doing a three hour journey does not sound like a winner to me. I would think that the military or someone could fashion some kind of small torpedo shaped canister with an oxygen supply in it or something and then take them out one at a time. I guess they have an established rope system for retrieving and finding their way back etc. Anyway. Good luck to them and may the human spirit prevail.
"Rescuers say they've found 12 boys and their soccer coach in a Thai cave after a week-long search. The rescue mission had gained international attention, and several countries sent rescue teams to help. The boys may need to swim out using diving equipment ahead of bad weather forecast for later in the week. A top Thai official says heavy rains forecast in the coming days and possible flooding has raised concerns Tuesday that the extraction of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a mountain cave in Thailand may be more complicated than previously thought. The 13 were located by rescue divers late Monday night in the cave in northern Chiang Rai province during a desperate search that drew international help and captivated the nation. Officials said Tuesday that the boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach were mostly in stable medical condition and have received high-protein liquid food. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, a member of the country's ruling military junta, said Tuesday that the boys may need to swim out using diving equipment ahead of bad weather forecast for later in the week. He said the boys would be brought out via the same complicated route through which their rescuers entered. While efforts to pump out the floodwaters would continue, Anupong said it's clear some areas of the sprawling cave cannot be drained and that in order to get out, the boys may need to use diving gear while being guided by two professional divers each. He conceded that if something went awry, it could be disastrous. "Diving is not easy. For people who have never done it, it will be difficult, unlike diving in a swimming pool, because the cave's features have small channels," he said. "If something happens midway, it could be life-threatening." A Buddhist monk, helped by Thai rescuers, walks after praying near a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach went missing, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand, Sunday, July 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) Video released early Tuesday by the Thai navy showed the boys in their soccer uniforms sitting on a dry area inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave above the water as a spotlight from a rescuer illuminated their faces. Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the health of the boys and coach were checked using a field assessment in which red is critical condition, yellow is serious and green is stable. "We found that most of the boys are in green condition," he said. "Maybe some of the boys have injuries or light injuries and would be categorized as yellow condition. But no one is in red condition." Cave rescue experts have said it could be safer to simply supply them where they are for now, rather than attempting to have the boys dive out. That could take as long as months, however, given that Thailand's rainy season typically lasts through October. Family members who have kept vigil at the mouth of the cave since their ordeal began June 23 rejoiced at the news that their boys and their coach had been found. "I want to give him a hug. I miss him very much," said Tham Chanthawong, an aunt of the coach. "In these 10 days, how many million seconds have there been? I've missed him every second." Rescue divers had spent much of Monday making preparations for a final push to locate the missing, efforts that had been hampered much of the week by flooding that made moving through tight passageways filled with muddy water difficult. A pair of expert cave divers from Britain found the group about 300-400 meters (yards) past a section of the cave on higher ground that was thought to be where they might have taken shelter. In the five-minute navy video, the boys are seen wearing their soccer uniforms and are calm, curious and polite. They are also keen to get some food. After an initial exchange in which a rescuer ascertains that all 13 are present, one of the boys asks what day it is, and a rescuer replies: "Monday. Monday. You have been here — 10 days." The rescuer tells them "you are very strong," but soon the traditional reserve of Thai children toward adults breaks a bit, and one tells another in Thai, "Tell them we are hungry." "We haven't eaten," a boy says in Thai, then breaks into English: "We have to eat, eat, eat!" A fellow boy tells him they already said this, and then the rescuer assures them that "Navy SEALs will come tomorrow, with food and doctors and everything." At the end of the video a boy asks in English, "Where do you come from?" The rescue diver replies, "England, UK." Narongsak said Tuesday that the missing were given high-protein liquid food, painkillers and antibiotics. He said doctors had advised giving the medicine as a preventative measure. He said officials had met and agreed on the need to "ensure 100 percent safety for the boys when we bring them out." "We worked so hard to find them and we will not lose them," he said. (MORE: Search for Meteorite Pieces Underway off Washington Coast) Anmar Mirza, a leading American cave rescue expert, said many challenges remain for the rescuers. He said the primary decision is whether to try to evacuate the boys and their coach or to supply them in place. "Supplying them on site may face challenges depending on how difficult the dives are," Mirza, coordinator of the U.S. National Cave Rescue Commission, said in an email. "Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy." The British Cave Rescue Council, which has members taking part in the operation, said in a statement that "although water levels have dropped, the diving conditions remain difficult and any attempt to dive the boys and their coach out will not be taken lightly because there are significant technical challenges and risks to consider." Joining the British are other cave experts from around the world and teams from the U.S., Australia, China and elsewhere. Authorities said efforts would also continue outside the cave, where teams have been scouring the mountainside in search of other entrances to the caverns below. Several fissures have been found and teams have explored some, though so far none have led to the trapped boys. The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
To me, this seems like the Chilean Miners on steroids. Very difficult. One good thing though, for miners, in my opinion, it's very hard to predict a mine collapse. But I think it would be relatively easy to predict if things change dramatically here, though. Lots of rain means rising water in caves.
I read somewhere they were gathering money so they could equip the kids with full face masks, so there would be no danger of spitting out the breathing apparatus.
A Daring Plan to Rescue Boys Trapped In Thai Cave Is Starting to Take Shape 7/04/18 George Dvorsky Today 2:50pm Filed to: RESCUES 34.5K 997 A section of the cave complex in which 12 boys and their coach are currently stranded in northern Thailand. Image: AP Earlier this week, 12 Thai boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were discovered by diving experts trapped in an air pocket deep within a submerged cave system. Water levels within the cave complex aren’t expected to drop for months, but a daring plan to rescue the boys is now rapidly taking shape. To quickly recap, the dozen boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach, age 25, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai Province on June 23, but rising waters from heavy rains stranded the soccer team deep within the cave system, about 1.24 miles (2 km) from the entrance. On July 2, a team of Thai navy SEALS and two British cave diving experts found the team huddling on a muddy, elevated rock. Video taken at the scene showed the boys were okay, though they were in a weakened state from having to go without food for nine days. As of yesterday, a doctor and a nurse have joined the members of the “Wild Boar” team inside the cave, provisioning them with easily digestible, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals. View attachment 188152 The boys, as seen on July 3, 2018, inside the cave. Image: AP The joy of their discovery, however, quickly turned to dismay as it quickly became apparent that the boys weren’t going to leave their predicament any time soon. The long, convoluted route to the entrance is completely inundated with water, save for several air pockets along the way. What’s more, the water is thick with mud and visibility is practically nil. Some sections are so narrow that divers can barely squeeze through with their oxygen tanks, and the flow of water is very strong in other areas. To make matters worse, the monsoon season is expected to last for another four to five months, and water levels aren’t expected to drop until then (human intervention notwithstanding). Discouragingly, some of the boys don’t even know how to swim, let alone have any familiarity with scuba diving. Medicine and food are now being transported to the scene, and a backup plan would have the boys waiting it out in the cave until October or November. A four month supply of provisions and medicine has already been assembled should it come to that. But Thai officials would rather that not be the case. Rear Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, who’s commanding the Thai SEALs unit, admitted that weather is an ongoing concern, but he said the boys will be taken out safely as soon as sufficient water has been removed from the cave. “But if that doesn’t work, with the seasonal rain, we’ll do it another way,” Yuukongkaew told reporters on Tuesday. “We have ‘Plan A’ and ‘Plan B’, and ultimately, everyone will return to their parents’ embrace.” He didn’t elaborate on either of those plans, but as The Guardian reports, around 32 million gallons (120 million liters) of water has been pumped out of the caves since late yesterday. View attachment 188151 A water pipe being placed at the entrance to a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave in northern Thailand. Image: AP The boys are also being given a crash course in swimming and an introduction to scuba diving. Thai officials are currently in conversations with Mermaid Subsea Services in Bangkok, a firm that normally provides equipment for undersea oil and gas extraction. The company is being asked to supply diving masks for the kids. Ideally, AGA Divator masks would be used, which cover the entire face and are specially fitted for children. Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, an official with the Thai contingent of the international cave diving team, said the boys will also be equipped with wetsuits (the water is very cold), boots, and helmets. Removing all the water from the cave system is likely not possible, but once levels are sufficiently low, the amount of time the boys will have to spend submerged will be minimized. Timing will be critical; officials will have to weigh the conditions against pending weather reports. View attachment 188150 Thai rescuers prepare for a dive into the caves. Image: AP Once the rescue gets underway, a static rope, which is already in place, will guide each boy and his respective rescue diver through the murky, rushing waters towards the entrance—or, more appropriately, the exit. Alternately, a team of rescue divers would position themselves along the route, passing the boys to each other in a relay style. The journey could take as long as three hours or more, so stage tanks will be positioned every 80 to 160 feet (25 to 50) meters in case oxygen levels start to run low and tanks need to be replaced. The boys will not be expected to carry their own oxygen tanks, instead relying on tanks carried by their rescuer. Ideally, only one boy would go at a time to prevent bottlenecks. Officials are already in the process of recruiting Thai-speaking divers, which should help to keep the boys calm and collected during the arduous journey. The dark, claustrophobic conditions could easily induce panic among even the most experienced divers. Using mining equipment to dig a passageway to the boys is not being considered, given they’re located about 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) below the top of the mountain. That said, teams are currently scouring the mountain looking for alternative ways into the cave. These are bold, daring plans, but Thai officials are insisting that none of the boys will be put at risk. The details of plan B have not been specified, but having to wait until the rainy season ends, while far from ideal, is still a sensible alternative. [Reuters via CBC
I was literally just reading that article. I am glad they are coming up with a plan, let's hope it works.