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Rescue efforts have begun for 12 young boys trapped in flooded Thai cave. 11-hour round trip for divers.


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In case anyone hasn't been following this, here's a recap at ERA: https://www.resetera.com/threads/12-boys-and-soccer-coach-stuck-in-thailand-cave-update-rescue-operation-ongoing-6-boys-out.51546/

 

Basically, they entered a cave 11 days ago on foot, and there was a flash flood. They went further into the cave to avoid rising waters, leaving them with only a pocket of air. Over the past week Thai officials have had divers string through cables and air and food. The initial plan was to leave them in the cave until September, but huge rainstorms have started, forcing their hand. 10 hours ago 18 professional divers entered the cave (5 Thai, 13 international) to rescue the boys. It is an 11-good round trip through the submerged tunnels, with some passages being as narrow as only 2-feet across.

 

None of the boys know how to swim, so divers have been showing them how to use masks and flippers over the past week in preparation. Elon Musk actually designed a kevlar bubble coated in Teflon that could be used to take them out, but it would have taken until tomorrow to get it there, and the operation needed to start today, or they would drown. However, he did send engineers that have been working on site.

 

Industrial pumps have been used to keep the water from rising further, but can only do so much. When they were shut down for an hour, the water level rose by 30cm. However, today they announced that they've dropped the level by 30cm from its peak, so the boys may be able to hold their heads above water for much of the 3km-journey.

 

We should be hearing news very shortly of the operation is succeeding or not. 

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Initial reports were a little off, as only 4 boys have been rescued. The operation has been halted as the divers need time to rest, and they need to re-stock the caves with new oxygen tanks at the checkpoints. They will resume efforts in 10-12 hours. Each run takes 8-10 hours plus the extra 6-8 hours needed to get new oxygen tanks placed along the route. I sincerely hope that the next 2 or 3 trips go as well as the first (all 4 boys are apparently doing well in hospital). I know that the term hero gets thrown around a lot, but these divers are heroes. They are going to spend effectively 3-4 days straight diving in pitch-black and muddy waters inside this cave system. It's a shame that this story hasn't caught on internationally. The amount of money and time being put into this rescue operation is amazing, especially with the way that many different countries and companies and individuals are working together. This is the kind of story, that while frightening, is also inspiring in modern times.

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11 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

Initial reports were a little off, as only 4 boys have been rescued. The operation has been halted as the divers need time to rest, and they need to re-stock the caves with new oxygen tanks at the checkpoints. They will resume efforts in 10-12 hours. Each run takes 8-10 hours plus the extra 6-8 hours needed to get new oxygen tanks placed along the route. I sincerely hope that the next 2 or 3 trips go as well as the first (all 4 boys are apparently doing well in hospital). I know that the term hero gets thrown around a lot, but these divers are heroes. They are going to spend effectively 3-4 days straight diving in pitch-black and muddy waters inside this cave system. It's a shame that this story hasn't caught on internationally. The amount of money and time being put into this rescue operation is amazing, especially with the way that many different countries and companies and individuals are working together. This is the kind of story, that while frightening, is also inspiring in modern times.

Looking forward to the movie! Reminds me of The 33.

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2 hours ago, PaladinSolo said:

Don't worry guys Musk wants to put them in a metal tube for hours, lol.

 

 

 

It's actually not a bad idea. These boys can't swim (common in East Asia). The reason they are able to rescue them at the moment is because the water is so low (so they can walk most of the way). If the tunnels were still fully flooded, Musk's solution might be the best option. Give them Valium and then drag them out.

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On 7/8/2018 at 8:10 AM, CitizenVectron said:

Each run takes 8-10 hours plus the extra 6-8 hours needed to get new oxygen tanks placed along the route. 

!!!!

 

I knew it was a difficult trip, but I didn't realize it was that long. I can't even imagine doing a dive like that. I've never done decompression diving or cave diving, but even a short dive through a system like that would be stressful as hell. Doing it under those circumstances for so long feels impossible.

 

Godspeed to these guys; I hope it continues to go well.

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3 hours ago, SFLUFAN said:

It's the blatant publicity-seeking nature of it, even if well-intended.

 

As I said on the Discord, he was apparently there because the provincial governor used a connection to get in touch with Musk to ask him to come help.

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4 hours ago, Scott said:

I don't understand all the hate for Elon Musk.

 

Maybe they didn't end up needing his tube thing, but at least he was offering his help.

 

What solution did all of his critics offer to rescue these kids?

 

I don't hate him, but the reason why I like him less is because he thinks every idea he has is a good idea, and actually something possible. He and his fans live by his past success, so now think every crazy radical idea he comes up with every 5 minutes is equally possible as PayPal, Tesla, and Space X. He has started to go beyond criticism just because he had detractors telling him he could never do it in the past, therefore that's all people are when they say things like the Hyperloop will never work the way he thinks it will.

 

Physics, logic, and reality no longer matter. He made PayPal, so obviously there will be nothing wrong, dangerous, or impractical about miles and miles of off the shelf steel above ground tunnels at a near perfect vacuum. Nothing could ever go wrong.

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23 minutes ago, Scape Zero said:

 

I don't hate him, but the reason why I like him less is because he thinks every idea he has is a good idea, and actually something possible. He and his fans live by his past success, so now think every crazy radical idea he comes up with every 5 minutes is equally possible as PayPal, Tesla, and Space X. He has started to go beyond criticism just because he had detractors telling him he could never do it in the past, therefore that's all people are when they say things like the Hyperloop will never work the way he thinks it will.

 

Physics, logic, and reality no longer matter. He made PayPal, so obviously there will be nothing wrong, dangerous, or impractical about miles and miles of off the shelf steel above ground tunnels at a near perfect vacuum. Nothing could ever go wrong.

I suppose that is a good enough reason as any to dislike a guy. 

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42 minutes ago, Boyle5150 said:

I suppose that is a good enough reason as any to dislike a guy. 

 

I don't dislike him. I still really like Tesla and the idea of Space X. I just don't like how people think he can change reality just because he improved existing things in the past.

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