Soccer team rescue....

[Brandy]

 

[69BBody]

Apparently they've started bringing them out. So far four are free...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/thai-cave-rescue-navy-dive-operation-1.4738333

 

[Brandy]

It's a long haul, 2.5 miles through there....

 

[Budnicks]

Glad they finally figured something out...

 

[kiwigtx]

I hope everyone gets out safely....sad to hear that a Navy Seal has already lost his life in the rescue efforts.

 

[BeeKool]

So how in the he'll did they make it back that far?

 

[kiwigtx]

So how in the he'll did they make it back that far?

I'm sure that this question will be among the first that the Coach will be asked when he emerges.

 

[KENTON]

So how in the he'll did they make it back that far?

Before the water came up.

 

[BeeKool]

Still, going 2.5 miles in the dark over rocks w/o shoes?

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Something incredibly wrong and stupid happened. How they got that far in and couldn't get back out because it rained? Must have been one heckuva storm. And yes, that 25 YO Coach will probably have some explaining to do to some Parents.

 

[GetX'd]

It’s a miracle they’ve gotten those 4 young boys out of there. I feel the miracle will continue and they all will get safely home. Their situation is so precarious - the rescue effort is stunning

I’m a certified master diver - including search and rescue and ice diving. That’s the one area of diving I swore I’d never undertake - cave diving. Ice diving is dangerous - cave diving is insane. Those guys that do it - and conduct rescue missions have balls of steel. God bless their mission.

 

[NJRR]

I think if it was real Navy Seals ( ours) and happened in the USA, the rescue would have happened much sooner. Not sure what is taking so long . The only challenging section of the swim seems to be that narrow choke point. But these kids are young, small, skinny Thai kids. Shouldn't be a problem getting thru the narrow passage. Have a diver in front and behind, switch the kids to pony bottles right before the narrow section and get them through. I think it's being milked for the drama factor. JMHO.

 

[kiwigtx]

I find it odd that the search will resume at daybreak. The kids have no idea what time of day or night it is, and the cave is dark....so what's the hold-up? Get in ASAP.

 

[GetX'd]

They need to replenish the oxygen tanks along the lines before they can resume the extractions. Doesn’t have much to do with day break. Just happens to be the timing.

 

[kiwigtx]

I’m a certified master diver - including search and rescue and ice diving. That’s the one area of diving I swore I’d never undertake - cave diving. Ice diving is dangerous - cave diving is insane.

I am a qualified SCUBA diver also, and have travelled one of New Zealand's most famous caves, before it became famous. Back in 1989, my wife (then GF), and a great friend Michael (Retired SAS), camped overnight at the farm where the cave is located. We set off at the mouth of the cave around 7:30am, for what was supposedly an moderate 7 hour round trip. As we weren't abseiling into the hole at the other end, it was there and back through the cave system. It is one of the most spectacular things you can do in a lifetime....glowworms, underground waterfalls, open caverns....we only have a few photos, which we haven't seen for many years. We made reasonable time towards the Lost World entry point.....however our return leg took a hit. Michael became quite tired after about 5 hours (forgot to mention to our guide he had recently had heart problems, and my GF was suffering bad with asthma). I was OK, so between the Guide and myself, we hauled our two companions through the difficult parts. That made our progress home a real time-consuming job. By the time we reached our original starting point around 8:00pm....there were a bunch of guys with ropes from Search & rescue coming to find us.

At least the were happy they wouldn't have to work too hard that day. We were driven back to camp, and the guys were really quite good about the whole deal...it was a real adventure.

BTW...I would never ever combine SCUBA with Caving....that gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

Here is a link to the now World famous cave system ....it's a veritable Tourist highway these days....not like when we did it

https://www.waitomo.co.nz/en-gb/adventure-tours/lost-world-tour-7-hours

https://www.waitomo.co.nz/en-gb/adventure-tours/lost-world-tour-4-hours

Pics taken from the website...not mine. I'm going to look for them now.

 

[GetX'd]

Looks spectacular - if I ever get to NZ I’d love to give it a go. There’s one that’s also quite famous in Vietnam (where my wife’s from) that I want to experience. The family back there says we need to hurry becuase it’s beginning to go the route of the tourist trap with zip lines and I believe talk of some form of rail transport thru there for the less adventurous. Sad they will soon ruin one of the most beautiful cave systems in the world just for the money. VN has a spectacular eco system that’s slowly beginning to become over run. I was fortunate enough to begin traveling there back in 94 - obviously after the war and before it had become a tourist destination. Now everyone goes there and all the VN care about is capitalizing vs the environment - like all good communists they like the $$. Hang Son Doong in the Central VN - the worlds largest cave system. I just looked it up - they apparently limit the number of visitors each year (at least they are doing something to preserve the eco system)

NZ is definitely on my bucket list - just wish it wasn’t so damn far away.....

 

[Xp29h]

Lots of folks cave dive. For me, I’d much rather stay the hell out of them. No interest. The vertical depth isn’t always there as in open water, but you never know some caves go a long way down and horizontal. Also, the time in the caves breathing compressed air or some other mixture will require time to rest and release the gases from the body. Not to mention the stress on the body going through these little “choke points”. These divers need rest and probably the way to refill those tanks isn’t all that close.

I read in one of the articles that none of the kids could swim and all have to be taught to breathe compressed air before the extraction can begin.

These divers that are doing this rescue deserve the most respect!

 

[1967coronet440]

Just seen that Elon musk sent some type of mini submarine there to help with efforts.

 

[Brandy]

That's cool.

 

[1967coronet440]