Missing youth soccer team found alive in Thai cave

Missing youth soccer team found alive in Thai cave

Around 1 p.m. last Saturday, the weather was clear when Prajak Sutham, 14, Pipat Bhodi, 15, and some of their soccer teammates chained their bikes to a rail, hooked their backpacks over their shoulders, and hiked into Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the mountains of northern Thailand.

The 12 boys, members of the Wild Boars soccer team, and their 25-year-old coach, had explored the cave before.

Popular with tourists, it's a place locals know well. For the first kilometer (0.6 miles) or so inside the cavernous entrance, limestone rock formations hug high ceilings, creating an almost amphitheater-like atmosphere.

Deeper inside, the passages narrow into places the locals warn it's not safe to go.

For reasons unknown, the boys and their coach ventured on, deeper into the cave network, past signs that warn people not to enter during the rainy season, which usually begins in July.

First video shows the moment the boys were found
The Thai NAVY Seal released a video that appears to be the very first moment when the trapped boys were discovered.

One of the rescuers tells the boys in English with a British accent: “You are very strong.”

Here's their conversation:

Rescuer: How many of you? 
Boys: 13 (inaudible)
Rescuer: 13, Brilliant! We are coming, many people are coming. Many people, we are the first.  
Boys: Asking what day it is.
Rescuer: Monday, you have been here 10 days, 10 days. You are very strong, very strong. We come, ok, we come.
Correction: This post originally stated the boys said "15." The number of trapped boys is 12, plus a coach. The total number of trapped people is 13.

Additional divers and doctors will be sent into the cave to provide medical assistance to the 12 boys and their assistant coach, according to Capt. Akanand Surawan of the Royal Thai Navy.

Air will also be pumped into the cave to improve breathing conditions for the boys and their coach, the captain said in a statement.

Officials are preparing to teach the boys how to dive, so they can make it out of the cave, the captain said. They also plan to supply the boys with four months' worth of food.

Divers found the boys and their soccer coach alive Monday, nine days after the group went missing.

Four divers went into the cave with survival kits and remained with the boys and their coach to offer assistance, the captain said.

CNN LiVe

This story is truly amazing! I can't believe it took MSM so long to talk about this. My husband have actually have been in tears of joy with these boys mothers watching the go pro video shared of the diver when they finally discovered these boys. It has been a miraculous story! 

Hoping someone can help me gather vids and more details of this remarkable search and find story. Humanity survival is strong and it does not only show the resilience of humans but the dedication to humans not to give up and push deeper and further! 

Edit add: using my old iPad one and having trouble viewing vids. Please help share this amazing experience of survival. This obviously is not completely over...but the coach obviously was smart enough to save these boys. The divers had been saddened when they found what was the highest peak of cave flooded. Sheesh! Just seen someone else just beat me by a minute or so! I should not have waited so long.

Admittedly, I see the other poster does have some vids on their thread here: ATS Current Events

I can only imagine the relief and still the trepidations these mothers feel! 4 months food supply seems like a crazy long time!

Edit add: are there any cave adventurers here at ATS, who can add their survival prep skills to this thread? Many cave systems are created due to the waters (floods). Do you have a survival plan? Weather forecast can be helpful, but one doesn't usually realize that flooded river systems miles away can be a flash flood scenario in the cave you are venturing into too.

Being trapped in blackout conditions for days could lead to anxiety, fear and have impacts on sleep patterns, Dr. Seema Yasmin, a fellow at Stanford University, told CNN. "There's a fear of being, 11, 12, 13 and not knowing if you're going to make it or if anyone will ever find you, but we also know that there is a psychological impact of being discovered and having that fear and anxiety and wondering when, how or even if you'll ever be rescued because we know here that there are rising water levels and rising mud levels that do pose an impediment to those wanting to rescue those children and their coach and they might also have an understanding that it might be tricky to get them out of there," Yasmin said. The boys and coach, she said, could lose the ability to distinguish between night and day. Yasmin said an example of the trauma a person can suffer from being trapped is the 2013 Chilean Mine Rescue, where a mine collapse left 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days. "One of my concerns is looking back to that Chilean mining disaster and seeing that when those men were followed up even a year or two later," she said. "They were depressed, they were anxious and they were broke. They were having trouble forming relationships and a lot of that can occur if you don't get the right physical and psychological support straight after. So we really need to emphasize that they do get that."

Since I chose the survival forum, this quote from the OP linked source may be helpful in understanding.

True, it seems like I am simply talking to myself...but...heh...it is the survival forum...totally understandable. Right?

Edit add:

Hendrick told CNN multiple steps must happen before the boys are removed. Here's what he said it will take to get the the kids out of the cave: Medical personnel will check the boys and their assistant coach so they can decide who will go first. They will likely be given oxygen if they can't swim. Two to three people will assist the boys and their coach to get through the narrow passages.

We took my grandsons to Mammoth caves last year and could see the flood lines in the caves if it were to flood! I think this is why we are not scoffing at this event and truly understanding how to survive. We love exploring caverns. Flash floods are no joke. Best to know what to expect, even if you think you are simply going on a simple tourist tour.

posted earlier here
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Please add further comments to the ongoing discussion in the above linked thread.
Thanks

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