"D-Day" For Thai Cave Rescue , The Operation to Bring Them Out Begins

originally posted by: Annee

originally posted by: toysforadults
how did they get 2 1/2 miles into a cave with rising water and climbing through 15 inch wide gap?

this story is so odd, doesn't make a lot of sense

I doubt I'd be thinking much in trying to escape rising water.

I think I'd just keep going trying to find a safe place.

Survive first. Orienteer later.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
I smell a movie in the making!!

I think by FAR the most suspenseful and for me, truly disturbing (especiallay two scenes which portray such absolutely helpless and tragic situation which have haunted me ever since I saw it years ago) movies I have or will ever see is about a cave exploring team who is surveying a cave when it gets flooded. Like this exact scenario. It was called Sanctum and it may not be an academy award winner but I can't imagine a soul who could watch it and not be on the edge of the seat start to finish. In fact that movie is why I can only skim this board and purposely look past any schematics or pictures quickly so I don't relate it to that movie. Ugh shuddering just thinking about it.

a reply to: AlexandrosTheGreat

oh wow. Thanks? yikes
www.imdb.com...
Sanctum does look intense. I am going to watch that full movie when I can.

I'm really struggling to understand some of the aspects of this incident, can someone explain it to me?


.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

.. If the tunnel is so thing that the boys need to squeeze through it (some are 38cms wide) how did they get in there in the first place?

.. if the entrance tunnel is flooded, why arent they scuba diving through the entrance - instead of scuba diving this alternative tunnel which is narrow, difficult and deadly?

.. why did the Thai officials say the boys could be trapped for MONTHS... then, suddenly start bringing them out in days

.. why are they being quarantined for days on end - unable to see their parents.. water born viruses are all over SE Asia.. they play in puddles and rivers full of pollution - why now is it quarantine worthy?

.. how were the boys found? they're 4kms under a mountain, multiple people are needed and multiple air tanks needed to reach them get out, so how did someone make it all the way to locate them - in the pitch black?

I'm not screaming conspiracy here, but there are many unknowns

a reply to: Agit8dChop

.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

When they realized the cave was flooding, it was from the entrance. They fled further in to avoid harm.

.. why did the Thai officials say the boys could be trapped for MONTHS... then, suddenly start bringing them out in days

They realized they didn't have months and got extra help from other countries and orgs.

. why are they being quarantined for days on end - unable to see their parents.. water born viruses are all over SE Asia.. they play in puddles and rivers full of pollution - why now is it quarantine worthy?

All the attention in addition to the many bacteria they 'could' have been exposed to within their pack as well as the cave.

Answer to the other questions is that I do not know.

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: Agit8dChop

.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

When they realized the cave was flooding, it was from the entrance. They fled further in to avoid harm.

so that confuses me..

if a group of boys entered a cave from entrance A with relative ease...
then entrance A floods
why are we scuba diving out entrance B.. which is dangerous and difficult?

why not scuba out entrance A?

a reply to: Agit8dChop

Here's an article with a map of what they are working with.
infosource.vet...

originally posted by: Agit8dChop
.. why did the Thai officials say the boys could be trapped for MONTHS... then, suddenly start bringing them out in days

Yes because they looked at the weather and the known monsoon season and said "due to the expected weather they could be trapped for up to the 4 months of the monsoon season"

Other than in the CT world listing possibilities isn't a nefarious thing..

originally posted by: Agit8dChop

originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: Agit8dChop

.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

When they realized the cave was flooding, it was from the entrance. They fled further in to avoid harm.

so that confuses me..

if a group of boys entered a cave from entrance A with relative ease...
then entrance A floods
why are we scuba diving out entrance B.. which is dangerous and difficult?

why not scuba out entrance A?

I think they ARE going back out of entrance A that they came in from (great grammar).

Regarding why officials first said they may stay there in the cave for a few months and then suddenly they are rushing to get them all out: oxygen levels in the cave dropped from 21% to 15%. I've read several articles that cite that as the reason they decided to go with the worst/most dangerous/most desperate rescue option of diving them back out.

And also of course that the monsoon rains may flood the cave even more than it is now and take away the dry ledge they currently have.

originally posted by: Agit8dChop
I'm really struggling to understand some of the aspects of this incident, can someone explain it to me?


.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

.. If the tunnel is so thing that the boys need to squeeze through it (some are 38cms wide) how did they get in there in the first place?

.. if the entrance tunnel is flooded, why arent they scuba diving through the entrance - instead of scuba diving this alternative tunnel which is narrow, difficult and deadly?

.. why did the Thai officials say the boys could be trapped for MONTHS... then, suddenly start bringing them out in days

.. why are they being quarantined for days on end - unable to see their parents.. water born viruses are all over SE Asia.. they play in puddles and rivers full of pollution - why now is it quarantine worthy?

.. how were the boys found? they're 4kms under a mountain, multiple people are needed and multiple air tanks needed to reach them get out, so how did someone make it all the way to locate them - in the pitch black?

I'm not screaming conspiracy here, but there are many unknowns

They got trapped in there when the entrance flooded. They were forced to retreat further and further back into the depths of the cave.

I don't know what alternative tunnel you're talking about, I believe they are coming out the same entrance

I'm sure they brainstormed various rescue plans, one of which was to leave them in there until the rainy season was over, but the oxygen levels were dropping and they realized they had to do it now. 8 of the 13 trapped souls is free now in the hospital.

I believe they are being quarantined as a precautionary measure. I wouldn't think any human has spent the amount of time these kids have spent in there breathing whatever they breathed for so long. Who knows what's in there. I heard 2 days.

They were found when a search party was put together after their bikes were found near the cave entrance. As they went into the cave, some of their belongings had been found along the way. They had to be in there somewhere, so they kept looking until they were found. Eventually a British diver found them. The search parties would be properly prepared to go look for them, they would have light, oxygen tanks, the whole shebang.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Truly, slay them chickens up good. These boys were so brave I was reminded of Goonies hardcore- Goonies never say die but they almost died in the real world- That's goonies!

a reply to: Agit8dChop

As I understand it...

.. How does a group of young kids walk 4km through caves in the pitch black?

They likely had portable lights... but batteries give out after so long.

.. If the tunnel is so thing that the boys need to squeeze through it (some are 38cms wide) how did they get in there in the first place?

It seems the passages were not flooded when they went in, so they were better able to maneuver through tight places. Once it started to rain and the cave started to flood, they were unable to go back out the way they came in, so they had to go deeper in the cave to avoid the flood water.

.. if the entrance tunnel is flooded, why arent they scuba diving through the entrance - instead of scuba diving this alternative tunnel which is narrow, difficult and deadly?

They are diving through the entrance tunnel. It has flooded from a smaller side opening about midway to where the boys are. That is why the cave floods: there is drainage from the surface through that side opening.

.. why did the Thai officials say the boys could be trapped for MONTHS... then, suddenly start bringing them out in days

That cave is known to flood and become inaccessible during the rainy season, due to this very type of flooding. It can actually flood worse. The rainy season is starting, hence the need to get them out now instead of being unable to do so for months.

.. why are they being quarantined for days on end - unable to see their parents.. water born viruses are all over SE Asia.. they play in puddles and rivers full of pollution - why now is it quarantine worthy?

Caves are well-known for harboring bacteria... ever seen a bat quano cache? It's some seriously nasty stuff, and there's no way to know, in the darkness, what someone could have come in contact with. Plus, the weakened condition of the boys could make them more susceptible to bacteria from the cave.

.. how were the boys found? they're 4kms under a mountain, multiple people are needed and multiple air tanks needed to reach them get out, so how did someone make it all the way to locate them - in the pitch black?

Their effects (bicycles, etc.) were found outside the entrance. A search of the cave after that located them, probably by sound at first.

TheRedneck

what i found intersting is the entrance of the cave is still dry up to a certain point further back, so if the staging area is dry why did they go further in? Theres obviously no risk of drowning at the first part of the cave?

An interview with one of the rescuers.

9th boy out now, and unconfirmed reports of possibly a 10th!

Elon Musk's publicity sub will "not be needed" - official.

Update from the cave

Maybe only (3) left to go!!

ETA...Reuters now reporting 11 out.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That's wonderful news!

As for those asking why they went in....
They are teen boys and there was a cave. If you have ever had teen boys you would understand.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

YES! Great news! Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed for the remaining boy and the coach.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Truer words were never spoken. It's a boy thing.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Whatthedoctorordered

Well, you have to understand that a cave is not flat on the bottom, the passage ways go up and down just like the ground does outside the cave. Also, the entrance to the cave is higher (elevation wise) than other sections of the cave.

It's the lower sections of the cave which flood. And it's these areas which make it so challenging for rescuers because some areas flood all the way to the ceiling. The cave was allegedly not flooded when the boys and their coach went in. The flooding started after they were inside.

Just one boy and the coach remaining, according to my news feed. They took the decision to push on and bring them out today too, instead of taking a break for the night.

Fingers AND toes crossed.

a reply to: BMorris

To the best of my knowledge they always planned on bringing ALL of the rest of the 3rd group out on the same day. That's pretty much always been the plan since the rescue began. Plus, they've been saying since last night that today would be the longest day of rescues.

Lastly, there's more than just the coach and one boy inside the cave. There is also a doctor who has been with them since they were found and several of the Thai SEALs.