Thailand - FOUND ALIVE - Officials Believe 12 Boys And Coach Trapped In Cave , 23 June 2018

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That actually sounds feasible, IMO. I keep having the completely unrealistic thought that I wish they could somehow put a giant tarp over the entire mountain where the cave is so that no more water can come in when it rains. But the water is probably traveling in from underground river systems so that would probably not do any good, LOL.


Sounds nice, but really would not be possible because of the very small places they are going to have to get through. Some of passage areas they will hsve to go through are very narrow. It really is a terrible dilemma with time and weather against them.

Oops.... sorry, now I see AlwaysShocked gave a much better description of the path they will have to maneuver. Thanks!

(corrected name of OP)
 
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What about drilling down to them from above and bringing them up in a rescue capsule like they did here in Western Pennsylvania at the Que Creek mine and also at the Chilean mine? The illustrations show they are about a half mile under the surface - so about 2600 ft. of drilling.

I think because of the time constraint, hoping to get them out before the monsoons start filling the cave even more, this may not be possible. Howver, they do appear to be preparing for the possibility:

AP Explains: Getting soccer players out of Thai cave, safely
CREATING ANOTHER ENTRANCE
Along with the search efforts inside the cave, rescuers have searched on the mountainside for possible ways into the caverns below. Authorities said those efforts will continue. Backhoes and drilling equipment were sent to the mountain, but creating a shaft large enough to extract the boys would be extremely complicated and could take a long time. The British Cave Rescue Council said the boys are “located in a relatively small space and this would make any potential drilling attempt as a means of rescue very difficult.”

 
Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued?

When 12 missing Thai boys and their football coach were found alive deep in a cave system on Monday, joy was tempered with anxiety.

The caves are flooded with surging monsoon waters, pitch black and in places too narrow to allow rescuers to pass while carrying scuba gear. None of the boys can swim or dive. The dilemma: risk a highly dangerous escape or wait possibly months for the waters to subside.
 
From what I have read the connecting passages within this cave system are not of the "walk through" type, they are more "crawl through". So a "chamber" is a big "room" within the cave system but to go to the next area you have to crawl on your belly into a small hole that leads to a long narrow passage through the rock to the next big chamber. The long narrow crawl passage may have turns and places that become very, very narrow where a rock sticks out of the ceiling or the side wall. It could have some water running through it, even during the dry season.

One description I read of this cave was that at places the passages were too small for the divers to have an oxygen tank on their back. So that is a tight passage, for sure. These boys will need to be fully conscious and participating to get out of where they are through flooded passages.

There are caves here in Pennsylvania known to be "a long muddy crawl". Yuck. They are not the Luray Caverns! Southern West Virginia has some really huge dry cave systems. But I still would never go into any cave, wet or dry, when it was due to rain.

The same article said it takes these experienced cave divers 6 hours to get from the entrance to where the boys are. They are "swimming" through areas of flooded narrow passages going against a swiftly flowing water current. So it is easy to see how highly risky the "swim out" solution is as an option.

The "wait it out" solution could be risky also. No one has ever stayed inside that cave at the area where the boys are to know whether or not it remains dry throughout the rainy season. As more and more rain falls, that area could become flooded also, so that is a risk.

What about drilling down to them from above and bringing them up in a rescue capsule like they did here in Western Pennsylvania at the Que Creek mine and also at the Chilean mine? The illustrations show they are about a half mile under the surface - so about 2600 ft. of drilling.

Good points.

I think the problem with drilling down from above is there is risk of the roof and rocks collapsing over them as the drill bit finally penetrate the spot they are at. Drilling involves very heavy drill pipe column and when it makes the final break through it can cause their roof to collapse onto them.

I am sure they are weighing that option too though as it has been done before in mines and the roof could hold.

I have faith that the experts there are weighing all these options and they will decide on the best one soon.

My guess is since its a triage situation where every life counts I am going to take a guess now that they will begin to use diving equipment on the boys that seem to be most expert at the dive training and ones that show no fear. They will assess them and know which ones can handle it. And I am guessing those will attempt a swim out first one by one with a professional diver in front of and one behind the boy. They will try one first and see how it goes.

By having a pro in front of and one pro behind the boy then I think they can basically pull/push the boy through each narrow passage and all the boy needs to do is mainly just breathe. And try to make sure his arms and legs finaggle through.

And earlier it was noted that there are other sections where they will be able to come up for air and take a break so its not like they have to do the dive out all in one long dive.
 
A list of the names and ages of the boys:

The boys are aged 11 to 16 and were on a trip with their 25-year-old coach, named as Ekkapol Chantawong, from their team Moo Pa - Thai for Wild Boar.

They have been named as:

Mongkol Boonpium, 13

Duangphet Promthep, 12

Panumart Saengdee

Pipat Phothai, 15

Nattawoot Thakamsai, 14

Adul Samon, 14

Somphong Jaiwong, 13

Chanin Wiboonroongrueng, 11

Phornchid Kamluang, 16

Prachuck Sutham, 14

Peerapat Sompiengjai, 16

Ekkarat Wongsookchan, 14
 
This article has a very helpful graphic showing the cave and the path to the boys as viewed from the side with the elevated and lower, flooded areas - about 2.2km in all.

Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued?

Doesn't allow me to copy the image over here unfortunately.

That is an excellent diagram. Look at the schematic view from the side and look at that nice little air pocket between 4+5. That is great news because any dive attempt they will be able to come right up for air in that little pocket. So they will be able to see how its going and they will know if the boy can go further or just go back to the main cave.

I was worried their first dive section would not have a close air spot to take a break and guage how things are going.

Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued?
 
It takes 6 hours for an experienced diver to get in to where the boys are situated.
Cant imagine trying to get frightened, non-swimmers out of there. In some areas the cave is under water so diving is a must. Other areas can barely fit a diver without equipment, very narrow openings with 90 degree turns.
 
It takes 6 hours for an experienced diver to get in to where the boys are situated.
Cant imagine trying to get frightened, non-swimmers out of there. In some areas the cave is under water so diving is a must. Other areas can barely fit a diver without equipment, very narrow openings with 90 degree turns.
One thing that should help is they can take a little break once they get to chamber 3, where the SEALS have set up a base. I think that might be three hours away IIRC.
 
Two doctors volunteer to STAY with children trapped in Thai cave for FOUR MONTHS if floodwaters cut them off and make rescue attempts impossible, as divers prepare to take pork and rice to survivors
  • Experts said boys may have to wait for months for water levels to subside because they can't swim or dive
  • Two Thai Navy doctors have volunteered to stay with the trapped children until the water levels are lower
  • But there are fears of rain fall in the coming days meaning boys may have to learn to dive and swim through narrow gaps themselves
Published July 3, 2018
Thai cave survivors will have to learn to dive amid fears rainfall | Daily Mail Online
 
This article has a very helpful graphic showing the cave and the path to the boys as viewed from the side with the elevated and lower, flooded areas - about 2.2km in all.

Thailand cave rescue: where were the boys found and how can they be rescued?

Doesn't allow me to copy the image over here unfortunately.

Thanks for finding this.

This should work:
A chamber around 700 metres into the complex is where rescuers, basing operations. Early rescue efforts were hampered by the rising floodwater, which is believed to have forced the boys

Monk’s Junction, 1,500 metres from the entrance, was reached on Sunday.

Higher ground known as Pattaya Beach ( first hoped the team would be found here). the ‘beach’ was also flooded.

The boys were eventually located around 200 metres further on, sheltering on a ledge surrounded by water, 2km (1.24 miles) from the main entrance and up to 1km below the surface

upload_2018-7-3_15-9-50.png
.
 
Two doctors volunteer to STAY with children trapped in Thai cave for FOUR MONTHS if floodwaters cut them off and make rescue attempts impossible, as divers prepare to take pork and rice to survivors
  • Experts said boys may have to wait for months for water levels to subside because they can't swim or dive
  • Two Thai Navy doctors have volunteered to stay with the trapped children until the water levels are lower
  • But there are fears of rain fall in the coming days meaning boys may have to learn to dive and swim through narrow gaps themselves
Published July 3, 2018
Thai cave survivors will have to learn to dive amid fears rainfall | Daily Mail Online

Thank you for this, Seattle1.

Hearing that the two Thai doctors have volunteered to stay with the boys makes me realize how good people can be. This is so uplifting.
 
Someone is sharing an interesting idea on Twitter how the boys could get out. It involves large tubes being put into the water with both ends coming out above the water, so the boys could crawl through. Doable?

See image:
Ben Robitaille on Twitter

Yes, like those big corrugated utility pipes. Great idea!
 
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