Thailands Lost Boys Found.

Now I apologize if this has already been posted ? These boys have been lost in a cave for 10 days before recently being reached by specialist divers
All have been located and they look very weak. Heavy rains are expected at weeks end so the race is on to get them out .

Twelve boys and their football coach missing in caves in Thailand for nine days have been found by divers, in a drama that has gripped the nation. They were discovered by two British divers on a ledge in a cavern after a marathon search operation in the Tham Luang caves in Chiang Rai. The challenge now will be to extract the party safely, with rising water and mud impeding access. Families of the missing group were ecstatic at news of the rescue. Rescuers had hoped they would find safety on a ledge in an underground chamber nicknamed Pattaya Beach but they were found 400m (440 yards) away having moved to higher ground to avoid the rising water.

www.bbc.co.uk...

a reply to: skywatcher44

Wow, that's cool. I heard this when it first happened and thought for sure they were gonzo.

Thanks for the good news .

Somebody needs to check for pods to make sure these are the real players.

a reply to: skywatcher44

I think you will be good. You beat my post that was in the survival forum by a few minutes.

Honestly, I don't want to repeat all the details I had put into that thread since it was closed.
Sigh. I will share the link as the mod did to this thread.

Details of Surviving in a flooded Cave system

A couple of things the local news reported.. Yes they were pumping water out of the cave but they also found a creek/water channel above ground that they diverted away from the cave by using a backhoe. Both helped greatly at lowering the water table.

Luckily with frugal use of the lights they carried they still had light when needed. Inside a cave it is darker than dark and you can not even see your hand in front of your face..

I like many never expected the boys after all this time to be found alive..

The coach was smart and had the boys only drink water dripping from the stalactites or stalagmites (the hanging thingies from the ceiling; I do not remember which is which)

Gotta love happy endings

originally posted by: 727Sky


The coach was smart and had the boys only drink water dripping from the stalactites or stalagmites (the hanging thingies from the ceiling; I do not remember which is which)

Gotta love happy endings

stalaCtites or stalaGmites

C for Ceiling, G for Ground



This is an amazing story.
I've been following from the beginning.
Happy to see this outcome!

a reply to: 727Sky

It's not over yet.

They still have to get them all out, and the weather report is not helpful to their situation.

I hope we truly can celebrate this one.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: 727Sky

It's not over yet.

They still have to get them all out, and the weather report is not helpful to their situation.

I hope we truly can celebrate this one.

That is true, fingers crossed.

originally posted by: spacedoubt

originally posted by: 727Sky


The coach was smart and had the boys only drink water dripping from the stalactites or stalagmites (the hanging thingies from the ceiling; I do not remember which is which)

Gotta love happy endings

stalaCtites or stalaGmites

C for Ceiling, G for Ground

This is an amazing story.
I've been following from the beginning.
Happy to see this outcome!

I knew there was an easy way to remember which is which.. but alas even the easy way disappeared at the time of posting.. Thank you.

I was so happy when I heard this.
I can imagine it would be one of most peoples worst nightmare scenario's, I know I'd be hard pressed keeping my cool being trapped like that.
I really like how many countries have sent their best cave rescue experts to help, by all accounts its a massive undertaking but I've no doubt whatsoever that they will get those kids out successfully. I'd bet too that they have no interest in recognition or accolades, just knowing they'd helped get the boys back to their families would be enough.

Medics have now reached them and also some sustenance. Amazing story really. Imagine stuck in a dark flooding cave for 10 days.. yikes.

Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand have received their first food and medical treatment for 10 days. Seven divers, including a doctor and a nurse, joined the group inside the caves in the north of the country after they were discovered alive on Monday. Rescuers are now considering how best to bring the group to safety. More heavy rain could see water levels rise and threaten the air pocket where the group has taken refuge. The boys were found nine days after they entered the caves in Chiang Rai province following a football training session and became trapped by rising waters caused by heavy rainfall. On Tuesday, Thai officials told reporters that rescuers were providing health checks and treatment, and keeping the boys entertained, adding that none of those trapped were in a serious condition. "They have been fed with easy-to-digest, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals, under the supervision of a doctor," Rear Admiral Apagorn Youkonggaew, head of the Thai navy's special forces, told reporters. Why can't they swim out? It is believed that most of the group cannot swim, complicating what would already be a difficult rescue.

www.bbc.co.uk...

what did they eat and drink how is this possible?

May the Power of All the Worlds Prayers be with these kids!

originally posted by: toysforadults
what did they eat and drink how is this possible?

They under the direction of their coach only drank water from the dripping Stalagtites .
Amazing indeed and I hope for their safe rescue.

I was thinking 'float' them out on a rubber raft, but apparently water goes to the surface for some of the distance. According to a report I heard they are three hours away from the opening.

I know there are mini-subs around. I think Sir Richard Branson has one.

Wondering if something like that might work. I worry about panicking. Three hours is a long time.

a reply to: angeldoll

There isn't sufficient room for a submersible. In fact, in the longest underwater passage there isn't even room for a diver with tanks. They have to remove their tanks to get through. This is part of why any sort of a diving rescue is so perilous. Sections have to be navigated solo...and solo dragging a tank, in a highly confined environment. To say this is simply dangerous is the understatement of the year.

Plus all of the activity from the rescue effort is using up the available oxygen which they are now working to resupply.

They've talked about possibly drilling a shaft into the cave like they did in Chile, but just cutting a road through the jungle to the best location will take weeks.

And then there's the rain, the monsoon rains.

The challenges are just staggering!

originally posted by: Willtell
May the Power of All the Worlds Prayers be with these kids!

Then tell them to get back to work in their dangerous child mines!

This touches my heart.

The Thai boys trapped in a cave have exchanged emotional letters with their parents, for the first time since their ordeal began two weeks ago. "Don't worry, we are all strong," one child said in a note. "Teacher, don't give us lots of homework!" he joked. The team's coach apologised to parents in a separate letter, but parents wrote that he should not blame himself. The 12 boys and the coach were exploring the cave when they became trapped by flood waters on 23 June. The handwritten letters from the group were handed to British divers on Friday and released on the Thai Navy Seal Facebook page on Saturday. "Don't worry about me, I'm safe." a boy nicknamed Pong said. Another wrote: "Nick loves Mum and Dad and siblings. If I can get out, Mum and Dad please bring me mookatha (Thai barbecue) to eat." In full: Thai boys' letters of love and reassurance In his letter, the 25-year-old coach Ekkapol Chantawong said: "Dear all kids' parents, now all of them are fine, the rescue team is treating us well. "And I promise I will take care of the kids as best as I can... I also sincerely apologise to the kids' parents."

www.bbc.co.uk...

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: angeldoll

There isn't sufficient room for a submersible. In fact, in the longest underwater passage there isn't even room for a diver with tanks. They have to remove their tanks to get through. This is part of why any sort of a diving rescue is so perilous. Sections have to be navigated solo...and solo dragging a tank, in a highly confined environment. To say this is simply dangerous is the understatement of the year.

Plus all of the activity from the rescue effort is using up the available oxygen which they are now working to resupply.

They've talked about possibly drilling a shaft into the cave like they did in Chile, but just cutting a road through the jungle to the best location will take weeks.

And then there's the rain, the monsoon rains.

The challenges are just staggering!

Has there been any information regarding the minimum diameter of the passageways encountered by the divers?

I have heard that Elon Musk is sending an engineering team including folks from both SpaceX and The Boring Company.

He has also proposed passing an inflated "tunnel" made vinyl through the flooded section(s) of the cave to allow those trapped by the waters and unable to swim, the ability to crawl their way out. He claims that as long as the tunnel is kept filled with air being pumped in, the tunnel should remain open enough to crawl through.

I think he has the basis of a good idea there, but I'd like to suggest a couple of improvements.


The aerospace company I once worked with specializes in developing and building Lighter than Air Vehicles; Airships, in other words. Some of these airships utilize contoured "air beams" to provide internal structural support for the lifting cell chambers. An air beam is simply a tube made from an airtight fabric, such as some nylons or vinyl, that becomes rigid when inflated. Air beams, despite their relatively light weight and transportability, can, when fully pressurized, support a great deal of weight; the military has used air beam structures to erect emergency medical facilities, and even operating rooms in the field.

I would suggest that we take Musk's idea of an inflatable tunnel and improve its potential safety and durability by making the tunnel out of an double-walled air beam.

Air would be pumped into the sealed space between the inner and outer walls, providing rigidity to the structure, while still allowing the tunnel to conform to the confines of the cave's passageway. The interior of the tunnel could then be pumped clear of water, allowing those trapped to escape with out need of diving, or even swimming skills,

I would also, strongly recommend that both the interior and the exterior for the structure be enclosed in a "sleeve" made of Kevlar to prevent abrasion and rupture of the inflation structure.


If anyone can get this suggestion to Mr. Musk, I would be most appreciative;

These folks need help ASAP, we all need to do what we can.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

The passage is stated to be only large enough to allow a diver with no tanks through. This would suggest it is something on the order of 2 feet in diameter or less.

Secondly, there have been a few mentions of some kind of a "tube" idea now in various places. I understand what you said about an air-beam, but I think it's important to understand a couple things first. The air-beam thing works in the atmosphere because a positive over-pressure in the air is able to make a form rigid, similar to a bouncy house at the fair. Underwater, the amount of over-pressure required to keep the structure rigid increases exponentially from that of in the air.

The underwater passage way is something on the order of 30 feet deep, which represents about 1 atmosphere. 1 atm = ~14psi. To fill a tube of the length and size required to fit a person through with a constant 14psi of pressure would require absolutely massive amounts of air volume (think like...building sized fans). Remember, the tube would have to be open on at least one end (because otherwise you've have to move some kind of an air-lock inside the cave...which wouldn't fit through the opening in the passage).

Okay, so here's an idea I have. Why not get a reasonably sized air hose into the chamber, and then pressurize the chamber above ambient pressure. Then set off some colored smoke, or smoke with some kind of a marker in it, inside the chamber. Then fly over the area and look for the smoke. Wherever the smoke exits is a passage way into the cavern. It might be the best location to try to drill a shaft.