12 Teens and Soccer Coach Found Alive After 9 Days

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Basically any solution is a risk at this point, though, isn't it? Leaving them in there with water levels rising doesn't seem like a great idea either, and the longer they're in there the worse their condition becomes.

I'm not sure if you have read anything on it, but they were talking about bringing food and water in and waiting out the rainy season. They have also been trying to get a phone line in so the kids can talk to their parents.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

I'm not sure if you have read anything on it, but they were talking about bringing food and water in and waiting out the rainy season. They have also been trying to get a phone line in so the kids can talk to their parents.

Waiting for what could be months in a cave like that could lead to lifelong psychological trauma. This is another thing that confuses me - if they can get a 4 month supply of food in there, is it that much more difficult to get a kid out?

To be clear, I'm assuming that the answer is yes, it is incredibly difficult, and that the divers in question do know what they're doing and there is in fact really good reason to not try to get them out more quickly in that fashion, I'd just like to see what the actual dive looks like as to how it would be done.

[Robo]

How did the kids and coach get in?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

They walked in, and then it rained a bunch, filling the passages they came through with water.

[Amethyst]

Yes, staying in there for several months can be traumatizing, but they are likely already traumatized. I went snorkelling in the Galapagos Islands and I had a moment of panic and had to get back on the boat. At the time, I had been snorkelling before, was an experienced swimmer, and was wearing a wetsuit. All I had to do was swim between two rocks (not a tight space) that every other tourist did and I couldn't do it.

Children who have already been through a scary experience, can't swim or dive, and they need to get through some tight spaces? I can see why they are hesitant to do this move. If they are in a relatively safe space now, they also need to worry about getting part way through the dive and a problem comes up, resulting in them being stuck somewhere less safe.

It sounds like there are lots of experts there from many countries, so hopefully they can come up with the best solution to resolve this safely.

[CroFlames]

Watching the Chilean miners being rescued live was pretty cool to see.



This story reminds me of that a lot.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

They walked in, and then it rained a bunch, filling the passages they came through with water.

And mud. Apparently there was mud that washed into some of the passageways and further constricted them.

Also much of the dive is in zero vis water.

[Russic]

If my first swimming experience was going to be cave diving for 6 hours, I might actually prefer hanging out in the cave for a few months (assuming there's a bit of assurance the water wouldn't rise any further).

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I get how it happened with the cave flooding, I'm just surprised that they went into areas that would require a terribly tight squeeze to get into. A lot of it depends if you can do the thing in stages. Are they in one cave pocket, and there are another 5-10 spots to stop and rest between where they are and the exit? Or do you have to do the whole thing in one dive? It'd be neat to see a graphic or diagram of the way out with distances.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/jul/03/thailand-cave-rescue-where-were-the-boys-found-and-how-can-they-be-rescued

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Awesome, awesome article - best one on what the logistics are. So it looks like mainly a two-stage journey - 700m to Monk's Junction (with three air pockets that can be used for a quick break at 100, 300 and 500m), then 800m to the rescue base, with generally available air pockets throughout... at least until more rain comes.

Of course, those diagrams don't show you how tight the swim is in various places. It does seem to suggest that they don't have much of a buffer in terms of how much more water can enter the cave before they lose their island. Scary stuff.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Russic

If my first swimming experience was going to be cave diving for 6 hours, I might actually prefer hanging out in the cave for a few months (assuming there's a bit of assurance the water wouldn't rise any further).

I'd wait it out as well, but you wouldn't catch me in a cave like that in the first place.

[mrkajz44]

Seems like an attempted extraction now would be the best option. There is no guarantee that supplies can be continued to be delivered to the group while they wait it out, so it's not like letting them stay has no risks. A lot can happen in 4 months while they try to wait for the waters to drop.

[bluejays]

How deep is the cave to extract them from the top?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Russic

If my first swimming experience was going to be cave diving for 6 hours, I might actually prefer hanging out in the cave for a few months (assuming there's a bit of assurance the water wouldn't rise any further).

You will have a mask with an escape cylinder on it so 5-15 minutes of air depending on breath rate for the narrow sections and you will pull yourself along with a handline.

I'm getting out now over waiting months.

[Patek23]

I’d guess that as they got flooded in they were required to crawl in deeper to avoid the surging water to get into the point that they are at. That’s just pure speculation on my part though but might explain why they are in such a tight area.

[Reaper]

I just keep thinking about how this could have all been avoided if they read the sign that was at the cave entrance warning to stay out during monsoon season. I'm not sure the coach is qualified to make field trip decisions any more.

[Oling_Roachinen]

I read that the site warns not to enter during July - November, the typical and usually very regular monsoon season.

They went in during June.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by fleury

How deep is the cave to extract them from the top?

Between 800 metres to a kilometre.


From CBC

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

I read that the site warns not to enter during July - November, the typical and usually very regular monsoon season.

They went in during June.

That really is unfortunate timing, since it sounds like they are just at the beginning of monsoon season.

[Bill Bumface]

Isn't the beginning of monsoon season the time you'd be most likely to get trapped in a flooded cave that was dry when you entered?