Author Topic: 12 soccer players and their coach found in Thailand cave  (Read 650 times)

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Offline ?Impact

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I hope they can find some "chimneys" from the surface to provide some air to them. Doesn't look good.

There was one report yesterday about them finding one that they were able to climb down quite far, but ran into a bolder blocking it. They could see past the bolder, but not get by. They were encouraged that smoke from a match was pulled in as they thought it was replacing the water that was being pumped out. There is a significant amount of water being pumped out, so it is obviously being replaced by something from somewhere. I am sure they are keeping at it, and hopefully something pans out.

Offline Omni

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I'm just hearing that not only have the heavy rains started to fall but that the current wind direction is pushing the additional water into the cave entrance which is thwarting efforts to pump water out. Like they needed more difficulties in this rescue effort! Also that the lowering oxygen level in the cave is closing the window as to how long they have to attempt an escape, and that the only realistic option for that seems  to be to dive them out. 

Offline ?Impact

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The rescue operation has begun. 18 divers have entered the cave to begin evacuating the boys and the coach. 5 of the divers were from the Thailand navy SEALs, and the rest were international. It sounds like they picked the most experienced team to drive this effort. It will take a few hours to reach the boys, and several more for the first one to get to the entrance of the cave. They will be evacuated one by one, and it is expected to take days to complete.

It is unclear how much diving, if any, will be required. The water has been lowered quite a bit, and much of the cave can be walked or floated out.  A press update has been scheduled for 9pm local time (that would be 10am in Ottawa or 7am for you west coasters).

Best wishes for complete success.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2018, 11:24:52 pm by ?Impact »

Offline Omni

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A nail biter for sure. Just relax, don't panic, just swim your way back on home. My heart is with those boys.

Offline Omni

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One thing I would think about doing if time would permit  would be to bring the first boy out (successfully of course) and then making a video of him saying something like hey guys, I made it, no big deal, come on out here and join me. And send that back in so the rest of the crew could watch and gain confidence. And then hope and pray the rest were as successful. Amen.

Offline ?Impact

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making a video ... rest of the crew could watch and gain confidence.

That is a good idea. I have heard they succeeded in getting an air line through, but haven't heard anything about a communications line which would make that even easier to implement.

The official word is they will be brought out one by one accompanied by two divers each. Not sure if that means they wait until the first boy has completed the entire journey, or they stagger start. One speculation several hours ago is they would be brought out in groups of 4-6, but that doesn't match the official statement.

The media was asked to vacate the site a few hours ago to make room for rescue operations. Several ambulances were brought to the site. The press is in a nearby town awaiting word, 9pm their time (10am eastern Canada) is the scheduled conference.

Offline Omni

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That is a good idea. I have heard they succeeded in getting an air line through, but haven't heard anything about a communications line which would make that even easier to implement.

The official word is they will be brought out one by one accompanied by two divers each. Not sure if that means they wait until the first boy has completed the entire journey, or they stagger start. One speculation several hours ago is they would be brought out in groups of 4-6, but that doesn't match the official statement.

The media was asked to vacate the site a few hours ago to make room for rescue operations. Several ambulances were brought to the site. The press is in a nearby town awaiting word, 9pm their time (10am eastern Canada) is the scheduled conference.

You'd really have to have your ducks in a row to have rescuers going back in while others headed out so as not to meet up in a tight spot. I guess if you had the comms. you could head for a wide spot and then advise and then wait for the outbound to get by you before carrying on.  I've got my fingers, toes and everything else crossed.

Offline ?Impact

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I expect there is some limited radio communications. Obviously not the entire distance, but relayed along the way. No doubt there are some sections where radio is totally out.

By staggered start I didn't mean divers passing each other under water, but checkpoints in the larger chambers along the way. If the first group got to a checkpoint safely, then the next set of divers would head in to get the next boy while the first group continued on to the next checkpoint.

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One other interesting point I heard is that if the water rises due to more rain, they expect the ledge the boys are on may be reduced to about the size of an 8x12 garden shed.

Offline Omni

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And they say the oxygen levels are down from what is a relatively healthy level of 21% to a current level of 15% which they say can adversely affect your ability to think and to act. I guess they are running out of choices other than to swim those boys out. Again I wait with bated breath. I wish I was a cave diver, I'd be over there.

Offline ?Impact

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It doesn't sound like shortage of divers is a problem. I heard there are around 130 certified divers there, and many of them are the absolute best in the world. Even in all the contingency planning they have a lot of the right people involved, like the birders* looking for alternate chimneys down into the caves.

The engineers Musk sent over are even further down on the contingency ladder, but it is important to keep those alternative options open in case they are needed. There was an unconfirmed report that a tunnel sleeve similar to what Musk suggest was tried out in part of the cave. It was fairly short, and not sure if it worked or not because the information is sketchy, but if they could eliminate a dive through a particular difficult section that would be a big bonus.


*birders, no not bird watchers but people who climb into caves and on rock ridges looking for birds nests. These edible nests are considered a delicacy. The group is from southern Thailand, Muslim families going back generations with these skills.

Offline ?Impact

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I just saw an update that says the divers will accompany the boys to chamber 3 which is about half way and where they have the command center set up. From there a different rescue team will carry the boys on stretchers the final 2km to the cave exit.

Offline ?Impact

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The first four (potentially six) boys have emerged. It sounds like they are coming out fast because when I woke up I saw several reports that kept increasing their numbers. Best wishes for this to be over with soon for all of them, and a big thank you to the many volunteers who participated.

One report has the doctor deciding to bring out the weakest boys first, but no confirmation of that yet.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2018, 08:30:29 am by ?Impact »

Offline ?Impact

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Official word is four have been rescued. They brought the strongest out first.

It sounds like the next phase will begin in 10 hours. I won't try to second guess the experts on the ground, just anxiously await more news.

Offline Omni

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I just turned the news on and was happily surprised to hear of their success so far. I can well imagine that that news going back to the boys still trapped will boost their confidence. They say also that the rains are soon to start and will be quite heavy for at least a week and that is forcing their hand along with the diminishing O2 levels.Lets hope that the success achieved in the first go around can be repeated.

Offline Omni

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I'm just hearing that the boys still in the cave have not as yet been informed of the outcome of the first rescue. I would have thought you would want to get the news of a successful outcome to the others ASAP so as to bolster confidence as they wait their turn. Now it seems they have to face another night not knowing what happened to their buddies.