12 boys lost in flooded Thai cave

[Chavodel8en]

Before I was trained in scuba, if you asked me what was the oxygen content of air, I probably would have responded "Close to 100%"

And Im not a dummy. I actually knew that air consisted of small % of things like NOx & SOx, as I did some work on air pollution issues. There's just no reason a person in the general public knows the components of air, and specifically the ~78% that is N, as it really doesn't matter to us, unless we're under pressure.

The general public probably thinks of air and oxygen as pretty much the same thing -- I did. I knew that I breathed in air and that my body used oxygen (ergo air and oxygen are pretty much the same thing in my mind) and then I breathed out CO2. No reason for more information.

 

[Storker]

the ~78% that is N

<pedant>"that is N₂"</pedant>

 

[ScubaToneDog]

What kind of medical problem a 38 years old triathlete would have do you think?

IPE. Happens to Triathletes all the time during the swim. Happens to divers too. Not always fatal, but under the dive conditions, it could be part of the scenario.

 

[Dan]

IPE. Happens to Triathletes all the time during the swim. Happens to divers too. Not always fatal, but under the dive conditions, it could be part of the scenario.

Thanks for the info. I guess you are referring to: Swimming-induced pulmonary edema - Wikipedia

 

[InTheDrink]

I heard here or possibly another forum - again rumour mill - that he was doing his second run and colleagues tried to dissuade him. Who knows if true but you have to imagine fatigue for all the people involved in the rescue must be a likely factor.

That’s why I’ll be happy once *everyone* is out, not just the remaining kids and coach.

There must be a lot of exhausted people there and tiredness leads to mistakes.

But fingers crossed and RIP the lost diver. IPE obviously possible but I’d wager more simple answers are more likely.

 

[Brodydog]

 

[MichaelMc]

Some seem to be getting more likely diver configurations. Avoiding 'carrying' tanks in arms. And matching descriptions of boys pulling themselves along the line.

 

[telemonster]

I heard here or possibly another forum - again rumour mill - that he was doing his second run and colleagues tried to dissuade him. Who knows if true but you have to imagine fatigue for all the people involved in the rescue must be a likely factor.

That is similar info to what I saw across multiple MSM sources (Which who knows how reliable they are.)
He was a retired Thai Navy Seal that came to assist. 2nd run even though others had suggested he rests. For some reason I have it in my mind that they were moving o2 K cylinders (heavy!) through cave, maybe from video clip.

It sounded like the water levels are much lower and perhaps there isn't that much diving behind done, but hard to tell.

In theory tomorrow should be the final run? Then perhaps site clean-up after.

I wonder how much video was shot during the whole event inside the cave.

The divers could certainly write a book that would be interesting to our group.

 

[Greenjuice]

I am not a cave diver and am struggling to understand how he would have planned to manage his air consumption in a zero vis situation (as opposed to very very poor vis). Set an alarm with a third to spare perhaps?

By my reading, the depths they are diving are not great (5-10m perhaps?), so a tank might be expected to last quite some time for an experienced diver. Is there a chance he was so confident about the situation that he did his second run on the same tank?

 

[The Chairman]

What kind of medical problem a 38 years old triathlete would have do you think?

They are not cave certified. No training and no experience are a dangerous "medical" condition.

This is a valuable lesson to be learned for other communities who end up in a similar situation.

In my 61+ years on this planet, this is the only time I've heard of a soccer team getting stuck 2.5 miles back in a partially submerged cave. I'm seeing a rush for some groups to claim credit for this rescue. The credit should only go to the divers making the dives and no one else.