12 boys lost in flooded Thai cave

[MichaelMc]

CNBC video, looking like some sidemount gear on Thai and foreign divers topside.

Race against time to rescue soccer team trapped in Thailand cave

Edit: it is tagged as 7 hours ago, beyond showing possibly more redundant gear, it does not add much to the existing status, beyond containing the O2 issue.

 

[MrVegas]

Don't know if this article had been posted yet, so I apologize if it already has, but it contains a fairly vivid description of the diving conditions: Thai Cave Rescue Will Be a Murky and Desperate Ordeal, Divers Say

 

[GreyhoundsAreFast]

I wish the media would get the terminology correct, with many incorrect references to oxygen tanks, breathing oxygen, running out of oxygen etc.

They're writing for a general audience not one that knows all the lingo and jargon.

 

[Scuba J7]

"A rescue diver says the easiest way to get the Thai soccer team out of the cave is to drug them"

A rescue diver says the easiest way to get the Thai soccer team out of the cave is to drug them

I came across this article today.

 

[telemonster]

One section is 90 feet or so. 30 meters.

Ah.

I did notice in the pictures one of the divers has what I believe is a 100% o2 CCR. French made Triton unit.

 

[telemonster]

An earlier news report said they were working to run a 200 megabit fiber cable into the cave to deliver voice and data. That is odd, but cool.

 

[KevinNM]

An earlier news report said they were working to run a 200 megabit fiber cable into the cave to deliver voice and data. That is odd, but cool.

Pushing a gigabit or 10G signal10km is easy on a 1-2mm dual strand fiber cable. Keeping the far end powered is not easy. Thousands meters is a ridiculous voltage drop for any reasonable voltage you'd want in the water or cable diameter you could pull in. So you'd pretty much have to go with batteries.

 

[KevinNM]

This article quotes Forrest Wilson, Who among other accomplishments is "chief diving officer for the National Cave Rescue Commission".
Thailand cave rescue: Why can't they drill from above, other questions you want answered

 

[Kay Dee]

Elon has proposed a 1M inflatable tube to get through the tight sections.

"Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m diameter nylon tube (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle. Should create an air tunnel underwater against cave roof & auto-conform to odd shapes like the 70cm hole"

Oddly enough, this sounds like what I mentioned a couple of days ago. It would need to be rigid enough to withstand water pressure and compression around tight spots, but overall strong enough to do the job. Question is: How long would it take to make it.

A wonderful gesture on Elon's part but............................a herculean (almost imposible) task whichever way you look at it, especially given that time is now of the essence.

And with all due respect, non cavers / non cave divers just don't seem to get it, that is the conditions and the complexity of what the rescuers are up against 'down there'. Undestandable though, as they have nothing in their life experience 'vocabulary' shall we say to relate it to. The devil is in the details (amongst numerous other things going on there).

However, on that note, I think we may find that the rescuers are forced to use what most people would / will find unconventional methods - that at this time pre final rescue attempt are not worth debating / wasting bandwith on before the fact - to 'swim' them out. Lets see how the cookie crumbles though, but it now appears what was first looked upon as the last resort (i. e. 'swim' them out) may now be the only option (whilst, as I imply, possibly using 'unconventual' methods for the swim part). Lets see - and hope for the very best.

If they can complete this whole ordeal with 'only' the one death (may he RIP) then it will be a miracle. But miracles, or what by many are looked up as miracles, do happen! Seen 'em myself, and I am not what you would call a 'religous' man. So here's hoping.​

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[Maverick17]

I'm curious which order they will take the boys + coach out. I know it's none of our business, and maybe we'll never know unless things go badly, so it's just speculation again. But balancing the parents' wishes, plus health, plus physical abilities and attributes. Would you take a healthy one first since it will be strenuous? The one most comfortable with diving after a week of impromptu "lessons" and seems least likely to panic? The one who needs medical attention most (although it sounds like none are in critical shape or anything)?