[Closed] Thai cave rescue.

Sounds like it will be a logistical nightmare to keep them alive until they can get them out.

Amazing stuff.

Yes, great to get a result.

Just hope it's not Rick Stanton teaching them to dive, last I heard he still didn't hold a diving qualification of any kind.  Total legend tho.  🙂

It's an amazing story and reminds me a little of the Chilean Mine rescue of some years back where they actually drilled down an effectively 'elevatored' them out; that approach may not be practical here though.

Talking on the news this morning - possibility of them having to survive in the cave until October!

They're trying to pump water out, but it's something like 10000L every hour = 1cm of water depth. One rain storm and all that's done in seconds I should imagine.

The other possibility is getting scuba equipment through and teaching the boys to dive in the complete darkness conditions - I suspect that's what they'll try. Good luck to them all.

(Actually couldn't believe my eyes when I put the TV on this morning and they'd found the boys alive. 10 days they've survived down there!)

Pretty impressive that they got that far in to begin with (reports say 6 miles, is that true, in the dark??)

But finding them is not the same as getting them out, but amazing work by everyone there and good luck.

Being trapped in a cave system by rising water levels is one of the scariest situations I can think of.  Hope they can be rescued without having to wait for the water to subside

The mind does boggle as to why and how they got that deep into the system. I suppose it's likely they were forced further in by the rising water.

I wonder how long the submerged section is? It must be a significant amount of difficult diving.

reports say 6 miles, is that true, in the dark??

2.5miles i heard, still dark mind you!

The other possibilty is getting scuba equipment through and teaching the boys to dive in the complete darkness conditions – I suspect that’s what they’ll try

I suspect that's a very unlikely option given the British dive rescue team have described the dive as "gnarly" and have been using rebreathers.

It must be a significant amount of difficult diving.

Took the British team 3 hours to reach them apparently. How on earth do you teach someone to do that as their first dive?

I've just read the Guardian article on the rescue to date explaining the skills needed to get to them to the boys. Teaching the lads how to do that as their first dive - that is one serious undertaking. The alternative is no picnic mind; months underground in a confined space. Mentally that has to be tough that aside from boring things like sanitary issues and medical concerns.

I would imagine the coach will have a question or two to answer on his return to the surface (although keeping them alive and together to this point was a serious undertaking).

Took the British team 3 hours to reach them apparently. How on earth do you teach someone to do that as their first dive?

Even sending experienced cave divers back and forth carries a big risk to them, let alone the kids.

How the hell did they get so far into the cave in the first place and why did they go in during the rainy season?

Now that they've been found I guess it won't be too difficult to set up a CCTV link and maybe even a power supply. In theory they can exist there for a long time as long as their mental health holds out and none of them gets ill from bad sanitation. They looked pretty subdued in the TV shots so I wonder what mental condition they are in? They also looked pretty emaciated, as you would expect after 9 days without food.

last I heard he still didn’t hold a diving qualification of any kind.

Not sure if a Padi Open Water certification would be much use in that environment? 🙂

Amazing stuff, HTF they are going to get them out? I guess they would be looking at full face systems with comms and stuff. Rather than just a regulator. The logistics will be a nightmare.

The other possibilty is getting scuba equipment through and teaching the boys to dive in the complete darkness conditions

I guess if they can get SCUBA kit to them, getting lights to them will be high up the list too.

Awesome story, rich and compelling. I was thinking they could take a rope down all the way through to the cave, secure it somehow (maybe take some equipment to secure it) and then escort the lads out one by one where they would pull themselves along by the rope to the next air pocket and so on.

In situations like this you put your mind in the mind of the victims, how have they survived for 10 days, wondering if anyone was looking for them, wondering if one of them should attempt to make an escape, knowing that death is a very likely outcome for that person, which person should go, did they debate it? how did they toilet, would they risk having a poo only to watch it come floating past 2 minutes later, I suppose no food = no poo. but they must have thought death was inevitability and I'm sure they will all now be rescued.

I think the nippers have done well to be in apparently good shape judging by the video, no panic, shouting or screaming. Food, mental and physical health and sanitation must be priorities for the lads whilst the rescue team formulate an escape plan.

I wonder how confident the rescue team is of finding another way out? Other teams are exploring the area to find another way into the chamber.

Gripping stuff.

I guess if they can get SCUBA kit to them, getting lights to them will be high up the list too.

Yeah, I thought that, but the telly people keep going on about how dark it is!

I guess they would be looking at full face systems

That was my first thought - relatively easy to use those systems (although tiredness and the obvious sheer terror the kids will be feeling won't help matters).

And I heard that they were already making plans to get lights down there.

I assume where they are isn't at risk of flooding out?

I guess if they can get SCUBA kit to them, getting lights to them will be high up the list too

I'm sure they can get light into the caves but the actual dive is likely to be very dark. Basically swimming through thin mud. You can point you torch at your face, at arms length and not be able to see it.

Amazing story, truly thrilling.

I was a Divemaster and went cave diving once. Never. Again. I've dived in some awful conditions but what it demonstrated to me was that I wasn't keen on being constricted in squeezes in the dark underwater. It was exciting in that way i was worried I would drown in my own drysuit from the level of pee that was coming out !

Incredible story, some of these cave systems are absolutely epic (i did a few in NZ) but goodness only knows how they will extract them. Diving them out would be a marginal proposition I'd guess.

Wonder if drilling a la the Mexico mine rescue, is an option?

Surprised no one has mentioned the Darwin Awards yet.

Just watched the video. Very moving.

They aren't even wearing shoes!!!

I assume where they are isn’t at risk of flooding out?

I wondered that, given the BBC article mentions that this is the start of the rainy season. Would be particularly cruel if that happened now they've been located. Wonder if there is a safer area that could be found nearby.

It's hard to put yourselves in their (lack of) shoes but if it were me I'd be pestering the divers to teach me how to dive asap and gain as much knowledge as I could in the event that I needed to use it.

"Surprised no one has mentioned the Darwin Awards yet"

I'm not sure that applies in the case of a bunch of children being instructed by an adult.

What a story, as someone who's never dived I was sure it was just hyperbole when they said they might have to wait months to leave - if Divers get get in then Shirley it's *just* a case of giving them some diving kit and letting them follow the divers out yeah?

The story has given me a better understanding of what's actually involved!

Last I heard they're planning to get power, lighting and of course food down to them.

As dangerous as getting them to dive out is I can't see leaving them there for up to 4 months is a viable option and if the cave is at risk from flooding they might not have it as an option at all 🙁 I've not read anything in depth yet but it sounds more like a lot of disjointed areas with some diving between them required (which I guess also complicates the pumping option if there's not a continuous water flow from the entrance to where they are.

4 months worth of food. I suppose they will need to build their strength up if they are going to teach them to dive. Can't be the healthiest conditions down there, hope they can find a safer way to evacuate.

I was a Divemaster and went cave diving once. Never. Again. I’ve dived in some awful conditions but what it demonstrated to me was that I wasn’t keen on being constricted in squeezes in the dark underwater.

Utterly terrifies me. Can't begin to conceive what it would be like for a 10-year-old who can't even swim wearing a mask for hours in pitch darkness just following a rope. I hope a safer way in can be found.

Ok so roll with me here .... instead of trying to pump the water out, why not pump air in !?!

In those really tight parts (where the experienced divers had to take their equipment off??!!)... install a big, really robust plastic bags with airlocks either end ??

Disclaimer .... I can dive ..... and get a black wooden brick from the bottom of a swimming pool.

It’s an amazing story and reminds me a little of the Chilean Mine rescue of some years back where they actually drilled down an effectively ‘elevatored’ them out; that approach may not be practical here though

From memory one of the miners was having an affair and both his wife and mistress were waiting to greet him at the top😂

Report I heard was that they were planning on diverting streams etc. that feed the cave system so water from the rains doesn't go in. How feasible that is / how they know what streams feed what caves and so on, i don't know; nor do i know what happens if you divert a stream in the monsoon season (do you flood a village instead!)

In Apollo 13 style, and given there doesn't seem to be an imminent risk, how long would it take to invent an airtight 'parcel' - no arms and legs to worry about, the kids will all be smaller than an adult diver in scuba gear so presumably will fit through gaps so you need an air supply and CO2 filter, strap them into it and drag them out one by one.

if Divers get get in then Shirley it’s *just* a case of giving them some diving kit and letting them follow the divers out yeah?

Theyll need to come up with a time estimate to get a totally novice diver out, then figure out how the hell they get that much air into the cave (x13 + dive crew). There might be intermediate staging posts that can be used but the logistics exercise is still quite something. Plus, as mentioned above, following the leader gets really hard when you can’t see them

instead of trying to pump the water out, why not pump air in !?!

You are going to end pressurising them, even just 1 or 2 bar above ambient is going to cause decompression issues.

if Divers get get in then Shirley it’s *just* a case of giving them some diving kit and letting them follow the divers out yeah?

There's diving and then there is black water cave diving. Probably the hardest and most demanding diving. A bit like teaching someone to ride a bike and then sending them  down the Fort Bill D/H track.

My guess is that the teaching them to dive thing is a complete red herring. Only the "two best cave divers on earth" managed to get to them. There's no way they'll allow them to actively dive out.

I'm guessing the safest way is to truss them up completely so they can't m9ve and can't wriggle and can't take their mask off and then drag them through like a piece of cargo.

An utterly terrifying thought.

An utterly terrifying thought

Yep. But more terrifying than sitting and watching the water slowly rise....... put me in the bag, now.

Wonder if drilling a la the Mexico mine rescue, is an option?

I don't think so, they are in quite a small chamber and finding the corresponding location on the surface would be very difficult.  If they can narrow down the location, actually getting a drilling rig and kit into the jungle would be another challenge.  As far as I'm aware they are lookng for other surface entrances to see if they can get in from above.

They might have to decompress even now and the longer they stay there the worse it will be.  A normal SCUBA set up for a calm experienced diver might give you an hours air at most so if they are saying its a three hour swim out then they are going to have to change cylinders several times - not something I would fancy doing on my first dive!

instead of trying to pump the water out, why not pump air in !?!

Because limestone is full of cracks and therefore is very porous, the air would just seep out.

Similar problem with diverting streams, although it would help, a fair bit of rainfall is still going to seep through the rock and into the cave.

Absolute nightmare. I don't know if we are going to see a magnificent clever rescue, or a horrific slow ending.

absolutely terrifying for the kids, and sure to have a lasting impact on them

just hope to **** they can get them out safely

Have done some caving know have some idea of how it can feel, and a sump of a metere or so was scary enough

If only thoughts & prayers worked