Thailand Cave Rescue

[stripeyfox]

This is a very interesting story and it looks like it might run and run for a bit yet so though it worthy of a topic.

 

Personally it must be hugely frightening for these kids to be trapped underground in the dark for all this time. Now rescuers have located them they now face a massive challenge of how to get them out. Most, if not all of the boys cannot swim and extracting them one by one through flooded tunnels sounds ridiculously risky so the best option may be for them to remain in the caves for four months until the rainy season ends and the cave drains out and they can leave.

 

Reminds me a bit of the Chilean mine rescue a few years ago but even more difficult because they are kids rather than miners used to being underground.

 

I expect this will develop into a major international rescue over the next days and weeks. I remember NASA were involved in the Chilean rescue but this one is probably even more dangerous.

 

 

 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44692813

 

Rescuers are considering how best to bring to safety a group of boys trapped in a flooded cave network in northern Thailand.

The 12 boys and their football coach were discovered alive on Monday.

Divers reached them nine days after they entered the caves and became trapped by rising waters caused by heavy rainfall.

More heavy rain could see water levels rise and threaten the air pocket where the group has taken refuge.

Attempts are being made to reduce the risk of this by pumping water from the underground system.

Professional divers are battling the difficult conditions to bring food and medicines to them, highlighting the complicated nature of any rescue.

There are plans to install a phone line so the boys can talk to their families.

Earlier, the Thai military said the boys would need to learn to dive - or wait months for flooding to recede before they could get out of the caves.

Food would need to be sent in for at least the next four months if the scuba-diving option was ruled out, the military added.

• What next for the trapped Thai boys?
• Thailand rejoices as boys found
• The Brits who found the group alive
• The hours after the boys were found

It is believed that most of the group cannot swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue.

The Thai authorities have appealed for donations of full-face scuba diving masks small enough to fit the boys in order to reduce the risk of their breathing apparatus coming loose as they travel through flooded passageways.

The group is also in a weak state after days without food.

"Helping the kids will take time," said Admiral Naris Pratoomsuwan, of the Thai navy, on Tuesday.

How were they found?

Two British rescuer divers who had flown over to join the search operation found the boys on Monday night.

The video of that first contact was posted on Facebook by Thai navy special forces.

The boys are seen by torchlight sitting on a ledge above water, responding to the divers that all 13 were there and that they were very hungry.

 

 

Media captionBill Whitehouse of the British Cave Rescue Council has been in touch with the divers

They ask how long they have been underground and whether they can leave now. The divers tell them they have to wait, but say people will come back for them.

One boy replies: "Oh. See you tomorrow."

The search for the group had gripped the nation as it was unclear where they were or whether they even were still alive.

Families of the missing group were ecstatic at news of their discovery.

How did they get there?

The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach went missing on 23 June. It is believed they entered the cave when it was dry and sudden heavy rains blocked the exit.

They were found on a rock shelf about 4km (2.5 miles) from the mouth of the cave.

It is thought the boys could move through parts of the cave in dry conditions but rushing waters clogged the narrow passages with mud and debris, blocking visibility and access.

One of the toughest stretches for the divers came as they neared so-called Pattaya Beach - an elevated mound in the cave complex - where it was hoped the boys had sought refuge.

Divers had to navigate a series of sharp, narrow bends in near-darkness. They completed the difficult journey to find Pattaya Beach flooded, so swam on and found the boys about 400m away.

How can they get out?

Bringing the trapped boys to safety is an extremely dangerous task given the conditions inside.

The Tham Luang cave complex in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand is regularly flooded during the rainy season which lasts until September or October.

Image copyrightFACEBOOK/EKATOL Image captionA Facebook photo shows the coach with some of the missing children

If the children are to be brought out before then, they will have to learn diving skills.

But experts have cautioned that taking inexperienced divers through the dangerous corridors of muddy, zero-visibility waters would be very risky.

• How will rescuers free the Thai boys?
• What to do to survive undergroundThai boys 'could be in cave for months'
• Nine days of hope - images from the search

Attempts to pump the water levels lower have so far not been successful.

If they are to wait until the water recedes by itself, it would mean the boys will have to stay in the cave for months and have to be continuously supplied with food and assistance.

Specially trained doctors will go in to carry out medical checks in the coming days to establish their condition and treat possible injuries.

BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, who is at the scene, said the Thai military had a few doctors with the diving skills required to reach them.

"But even when they recover their strength, pulling them back through miles of partly flooded tunnels will be a daunting challenge. And the rainy season has just started here - water levels will rise," he said.

Other teams are still scouring the mountainside in the hope of finding another way in to the cave.

 

 

Media captionDiver Ben Reymenants is assisting with the rescue mission and says none of the boys can swim

Who are they?

The 12 boys are all members of a local football team and their coach is known to have taken them on occasional excursions and field trips.

Tinnakorn Boonpiem, whose 12-year-old son Mongkol is among the 13, told AFP news agency near the caves she was "so glad" to hear they were safe.

"I want him to be physically and mentally fit," she said.

"I'm so happy I can't put it into words," another relative of one of the group told reporters as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks.

[goose2010]

I have followed this story the last couple of days and its amazing they are still alive 12 days.

 

I hope they can get them all out but this is when the hard works starts, even the most experienced diver would find it nearly impossible to dive out of there.

[Rob1742]

I had wrote them off days ago. I thought it impossible they would still be alive.

 

But yeah, it’s not over yet, and the parents must be going through hell. 

 

Think you would go from virtually no hope, to then the most amazing feeling in the world. But then when you are told the extreme difficulties you go down again.

 

These rescuers though, unbelievable, what absolute amazing folk. 

[kingcarr21]

Incredible story. Lets hope they figure out how to get them out. Waiting months for the water levels to go isn't really ideal but from the sounds of it it may be the safest way to save them all. Lets hope for a happy ending

[yorkie1999]

Imagine being a kid from thailand and being stuck for 12 days in a pitch black cave, then one day you hear a bubbling sound and you see some lights, then a British bloke pops his head out of the water and says "how you doin lads?".

[davieG]

Yeah been following from early on was anticipated bad news but I have hope they'll continue with this difficult task and bring them out safely. 

 

 

[urban.spaceman]

Truly amazing story - teared up a bit when they showed the families celebrating - the sheer relief they'll be experiencing must be overwhelming! The fact that they'll be stuck down there for a few months yet is also crazy. I would start writing a screenplay but you just know Netflix are already on it.

 

One thing I am disappointed about is that something weird didn't happen like they were looking for 12 missing people and found 13, or that they'd all aged 20 years or something like Flight of the Navigator.

 

I've watched too many films. Might watch The Descent tonight.

[stripeyfox]

I really hope they get out and they aren't too distressed by their experience. Some of those kids are same age as my son and it is a little bit heartbreaking to think of him stuck in a cave like that.

 

Let hope that they get out safe and Top can treat them all to an all expenses trip to the KP!
 

[Nick]

They are I think going to have to teach the kids how to dive or else they'll potentially be down their for weeks and maybe months.

[Nick]

5 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

I really hope they get out and they aren't too distressed by their experience. Some of those kids are same age as my son and it is a little bit heartbreaking to think of him stuck in a cave like that.

 

Let hope that they get out safe and Top can treat them all to an all expenses trip to the KP!
 

Yeah because if the cave doesn't kill them we can finish them off by making them watch a Puel match.

[urban.spaceman]

What I want to know is will they get a points deduction for missing half the season?

[davieG]

I can't give them all my thoughts as I'm using some for Neymar hoping that he'll have recovered from his broken ankle in time for the next game.

[Bellend Sebastian]

20 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

What I want to know is will they get a points deduction for missing half the season?

"We couldn't field a team because most of the squad are trapped by floodwater 2.5km into a cave system". Oldest excuse in the book, like they'll fall for that

[ozleicester]

5 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

"We couldn't field a team because most of the squad are trapped by floodwater 2.5km into a cave system". Oldest excuse in the book, like they'll fall for that

and 12 footballers and not one of them can dive?   nahhh not buying that

[urban.spaceman]

Moo Pa. What a great name!

 

[MrSpaM]

Surely it'd be quicker to just pump the water out rather than having to make them wait for months and months?

[stripeyfox]

2 minutes ago, MrSpaM said:

Surely it'd be quicker to just pump the water out rather than having to make them wait for months and months?

I presume they have thought of that. They are pumping as much as they can but I think there is a huge amount of water pouring through. It is the rainy season so I imagine more water will enter the cave system than can be pumped out?

 

[stripeyfox]

 

From BBC News

 

Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand have received their first food and medical treatment for 10 days.

Seven divers, including a doctor and a nurse, joined the group inside the caves in the north of the country after they were discovered alive on Monday.

Rescuers are now considering how best to bring the group to safety.

More heavy rain could see water levels rise and threaten the air pocket where the group has taken refuge.

The boys were found nine days after they entered the caves following a football training session and became trapped by rising waters caused by heavy rainfall.

On Tuesday, Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment, and keeping the boys entertained, adding that none of those trapped were in a serious condition.

"They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor," Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai navy's special forces, told reporters.

[Guest]

Apparently it took four hours to reach them through the cave system. Can't see how you can teach kids to dive and make it out through zero visibility and cramped passages without panic ensuing. As a claustrophobic this whole thing sounds nightmarish!

[lifted*fox]

elon musk will bore through the cave and save them. you heard it hear first. he loves that sort of shit. 

[stripeyfox]

4 minutes ago, toddybad said:

Apparently it took four hours to reach them through the cave system. Can't see how you can teach kids to dive and make it out through zero visibility and cramped passages without panic ensuing. As a claustrophobic this whole thing sounds nightmarish!

No I don't think you can. I presume these divers are experts in their field with years of training and experience. Most of the kids can't even swim, let alone dive. They are trapped and the world needs to come together to do whatever they can to rescue them.

 

I think they explored the possibility of drilling in but that too is fraught with difficulties. There's no roads in the area you'd need to drill from so you'd have to address that first before you could bring in specialist drilling equipment. It took over a month to drill the hole that rescued the miners in Chile.

 

It is as you say a nightmarish scenario.

 

 

[Dr The Singh]

If they were American they would make a movie about em

[ozleicester]

55 minutes ago, lifted*fox said:

elon musk will bore through the cave and save them. you heard it hear first. he loves that sort of shit. 

 ive just realised... Elon is... Jeff Tracy!

[lifted*fox]

not relevant really but imagine getting stuck in a cave with 13 Thai ladyboys. 

 

[BoyJones]

Sounds like a job for Thunderbirds.

 

On a serious note, hope it turns out well, which hopefully it should do.