Thai boys lost in Tham Luang cave system
- Thread starter EgonSpengler
- Start date
reports were that oxygen levels in their cave had alredy dropped to slightly above what you'd want to keep everyone conscious - waiting a few more weeks appears to have simply been impossible and they decided to get them out before more rain would mean they'd need to wait for longer than feasible with no air inlet to the cave.
shadowplay
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Accessibility by road to the area is poor so bringing in drilling rigs isn't really feasible.
Airplanes?
Would cost, but still won't kill anyone (one has to suppose).
(iirc) Some heavy duty planes transport tanks, so they likely can move large enough drilling vehicles.
Even if the oxygen issue could be solved and it was possible to keep them alive for possibly months in there, it might not be a good idea for two reasons: First, the condition of the boys might deteriorate further in that time. Sitting around in the dark while not being able to do anything isn't good for their physical and mental health. They might get too weak for a rescue mission like this. Or they might develop issues that would require the attention of a specialist, none of which is able to cave dive. Or they might suffer mental breakdowns and endanger themselves.
Second, keeping them alive in there for months would require a lot of supply missions and those are dangerous. As we have sadly seen, even for professionals the risk getting in and out of there isn't zero. The death toll of keeping this up for months might be too high. And that is under current conditions. If the rain season picks up, the flooding of the cave might get worse and diving through it more dangerous to the point, where all supply missions have to be suspended. If there was an emergency during a rain storm, no one would be able to help and no one would even know until it is too late.
I have no idea how big the risks are, but I could imagine that taking a big risk now might be better than taking many small risks, which combine to a bigger risk overall.
Probably impossible. The water is in the deepest parts of the cave in the middle of a hill. To let the water out, you would need to create a opening to an even deeper point. Such a point is probably kilometers if not tens of kilometers away. Such a tunnel would likely be a multi-month project, even if you had all equipment available and had a way to get it there.
God of Kings
Ruler of all heads of state
Very interesting:
Monsoon driven groundwater rise has forced the issue. They basically responded to the rain forecast.
FriendlyFire
Codex WMDicanious
I think Thai government should erect warning signs from now on.
Sending in supplies would be difficult as the bottle neck for the supply line is the underwater cave, and having divers hand carry the supplies through narrow passageways. One of the Thai divers already died shows how dangerous the trip is
Zkribbler
Deity
Another 3 are rescued just now making the total 7
The intention for today is to rescue 1-3 more
and tomorrow the last remaining.
The divers are the same as the ones that did it yesterday
(reason given is they are now most experienced to handle it)
The intention for today is to rescue 1-3 more
and tomorrow the last remaining.
The divers are the same as the ones that did it yesterday
(reason given is they are now most experienced to handle it)
Zkribbler
Deity
All 10 are out + the coach. 
3 Thai SEALS + 1 medic remain.
3 Thai SEALS + 1 medic remain.
shadowplay
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Extraordinary accomplishment. The divers are all true heroes.
Lexicus
Deity
Where are they supposed to land?
Disgustipated
Deity
warning signs can only do so much. They need to physically restrict access to the caves during the rainy season. It's not that hard to do. We've had access to caves and mines restricted where I live. We also have warning signs that actually say trails are close during June through September because too many stupid people kept dying in the summer heat. It's not just a warning sign, the trails are actually closed. Although nothing is stopping you from parking there anyways and hiking in the desert in the summer. You can actually do it if you start at 5AM and finish by 9AM. It's much easier to close a cave or mine than it is the open desert.
EgonSpengler
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Post-script bit n' bobs:
- The boys lost ~2kg each.
- FIFA offered the boys tickets to the World Cup Final, but hospital doctors said they cannot travel so soon.
- Each extraction dive, with 2 professional divers accompanying each boy, took 9 to 11 hours. I don't think that was entirely underwater, I think there were pockets and caves where they could rest and get fresh air tanks.
- The boys and the coach are being given prophylactic treatment for tetanus and rabies. Some of these caves are inhabited by bats. Doctors are also concerned about fungal infections, particularly in the lungs.
- Lord Ashcroft of the UK's Conservative Party has called for the British divers to be given a George Cross.
- Rick Stanton is a firefighter from Coventry who has an MBE already. In 2004, he helped rescue British soldiers stuck in a cave in Mexico.
- John Volanthen is an IT consultant from Bristol.
- Stanton and Volanthen set a world record for deep cave diving in 2010, in Spain.
- Robert Charles Harper, from Somerset, has already received an award from the Thai government.
- Four of the Thai SEALS. The masks are to protect their identities, I suppose: Spoiler :
- Dr. Richard Harris, an anaesthesiologist from Adelaide, Australia who is also a renowned cave diver, happened to be vacationing in Thailand. He spent the last few days in the cave with the boys, with some of the SEALS, and was the last person to exit the caves: Spoiler :
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