Thailand Soccer Team

[Road Guy]

man how did this adult F up so bad to be in this situation?

- youth soccer team trapped in cave as water rises - may have to learn to scuba dive to escape -

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/asia/thai-rescue-next-phase-intl/index.html

 

[Supe]

Holy sh*t!  It sure sounds like they had to be way off the beaten path to have been exploring in the first place.  WTF?  Serious question - how can they leave them there for months?  Where is the feces/waste going?  I'd imagine the water is stagnant in that part now that its filled to where it is.

 

[Road Guy]

And apparently none of them can swim? Guess one option is to wait till water recedes in 4 months? Jesus Christ -

 

[Supe]

Sounds like they need to get drilling.  Otherwise, it's the Navy SEAL, one by one, establishing a rope lead line for the kids to follow since visibility is zero.

 

[Road Guy]

Cave diving in clear yet dark water scares the **** out of me (only stuck my head in a few) can't imagine a kid who can't swim dealing with that - they may have to force the regulator in their mouth for a long swim

Almost like they need to make them unconscious and put a full face mask regulator on each one and tow them out

 

[txjennah PE]

I just read about this story earlier - what a nightmare  I'm glad the kids are okay, and I hope they don't have to spend the next four months in a cave. I read that 2 doctors volunteered to stay with them in case they do, which I think is really selfless.

I'm a weenie, so there's zero chance I'd want to explore a cave unless it's a heavily curated experience with zero chance of getting stuck.

 

[Supe]

I tend not to put myself in situations where a parts failure results in drowning.  I've worked on too many cars and too many power plants to trust a part not to fail, regardless of how good the manufacturer's QA or ISO program may be...

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

And apparently none of them can swim? Guess one option is to wait till water recedes in 4 months? Jesus Christ -

The problem isn't just the water receding otherwise they'd already have it pumped out. This is the start of their rainy season, and they are expecting heavy storms at the end of the week which could refill the caves they've been pumping. 

 

[Szar]

The problem isn't just the water receding otherwise they'd already have it pumped out. This is the start of their rainy season, and they are expecting heavy storms at the end of the week which could refill the caves they've been pumping. 

You would think they would have some type of inflatable gerbil tunnel that could be snaked through the cave.

I should invent one otherwise.

 

[YMZ PE]

They were nine days in the cave with flooded passageways before they were found. Hopefully that means there's some source of air and therefore an opening to the outside they can access? Or at least that could mean the rock is stable enough to hold up a kilometer-long drilled hole. 

 

[Road Guy]

I cant imagine spending 9 days in the dark like that - I am assuming they just drank the cave water?

Today the news said its taking the professional  / military divers 5-6 hours to reach them from the opening, I cant imagine getting them out via scuba is really an option?

 

[snickerd3]

from the map i saw there is a lot of dry in between the water sections.  so suit up dive, un hook and walk, suit up again and dive, repeat.  

 

[Road Guy]

Easier said than done though, especially if they cant swim (probably afraid of water) - I've seen people who wanted to learn to scuba totally freak out once they get underwater - I guess if the kids can get it into there heads that you will basically learn to do this or die - just really sucks they are in this situation...

 

[Dleg]

Just need some industrial dive helmets / full face masks. Spend some time pre-positioning them at all the exit / entrance spots. Then swim them out one by one. 

 

[Szar]

Easier said than done though, especially if they cant swim (probably afraid of water) - I've seen people who wanted to learn to scuba totally freak out once they get underwater - I guess if the kids can get it into there heads that you will basically learn to do this or die - just really sucks they are in this situation...

Simple:

• Knock the kids out,
  
• strap a mask to their face and duct tape it for good measure,
  
• lash the kids to their backs,  (These are Navy Seals after all) 
  
• and pull everyone out through the tunnel. 
  

We are engineers!  We can science the **** out of this!

(Although, this story sounds like a Darwin award in the making.)

 

[YMZ PE]

(Although, this story sounds like a Darwin award in the making.)

That's more than a little unfair. The monsoon rains come on hard and fast in that part of the country. The current of water suddenly entering the cave would have made it difficult for even an experienced swimmer to try to leave the cave once the entrance was flooded, to say nothing of a scared kid who doesn't know how to swim. They managed to find dry ground in the dark and survived 9 days without food, light or hope before they were found - together. This is the opposite of a Darwin award case.

 

[Road Guy]

well these are "Thai Navy Seals" while not saying they are not qualified, I don't think they are in the same league as US Navy Seals.

What I saw on a scuba site was the cave diving community / experts were advising that having the boys scuba out should be the last resort.

This is a more detailed map of the cave than I have seen on the regular news -

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/its-one-three-most-dangerous-dives-ive-done-expert-diver-says-thai-cave-football-team-stuck-labyrinth

'It's one of the three most dangerous dives I've done' - expert diver says

This was on the news last night.

 

[Road Guy]

^ - The Brits are known for having the best Cave Dive Rescue folks around so glad to hear they have them on site. I doubt even US Navy Seals deal with cave diving, totally different world..

 

[Szar]

That's more than a little unfair. The monsoon rains come on hard and fast in that part of the country. The current of water suddenly entering the cave would have made it difficult for even an experienced swimmer to try to leave the cave once the entrance was flooded, to say nothing of a scared kid who doesn't know how to swim. They managed to find dry ground in the dark and survived 9 days without food, light or hope before they were found - together. This is the opposite of a Darwin award case.

Would not caving during monsoon season be a good lesson learned?

My heart goes out to them, but your spelunking / caving in what seems like a fairly complex cave system with im guessing inadequate knowledge of the area and conditions.

my view on the matter is you only go into the earth when your dead.  i aint rushing it. (Claustrophobic too]