12 boys lost in flooded Thai cave

[taimen]

The heroes who saved the Wild Boars

Some of the rescue divers introduced.

 

[taimen]

We still don't know how many of the rescue divers were on RBs. Some of them may have opted for OC, for various reasons.

No statistics, but at least Mikko Paasi posted in fb that he was using his sidemount SF-2 for the rescue dives. He is an SF-2 instructor.

 

[Greenjuice]

I have a few questions about the situation in the cave.
- When the cave was flooding the current would be moving into the cave. If that is the case water rises and the kids/coach were carried inward until they were able to "land" on the ledge.
- Am I correct in assuming that their route of rescue was different as a result of h20 being pumped out of the cave?
- Did the current change flowing outward during rescue? I heard one "expert" caver say this during an interview.
- Would their rescue have been less risky by getting them out on the same route as they came in when the h20 was at a deeper level?

My non-expert attempt to comment on your questions, in order:
By my reading of events, the current flow was generally towards the exit of the cave. Entries were taking longer than exits. The route of rescue was the same after pumping, but with less water and more walking. They came out the same route as the one they went in (initially when it was dry).

 

[Greenjuice]

So what you are saying is they walked in and as ground h20 seeped in they went for higher ground.
So that squeeze point was above them as they were walking in.
Do I have this right?

Have a look at the sketch on Page 7, Post #68.
I believe it was sketched by one of the rescue team members asking for wider assistance, after emerging from one of the initial explorations. Not sure if 'above' is the right way to describe it.

 

[SailorJoe]

Apologies if this isnt appropriate to as here, hiwever, I was wondering (i know nothing about cave diving) if the rescue divers were on rebreathers, how come there is so much set up with the placing of stage/bail out cylinders (i don't know if thats what they were for) through the cave? Could someone explain what these are used for?
Is this just in case of equipment failure?
Sorry if this is a stupid question.

Remember the boys did not have rebreathers. Some of the rescue team did. Anybody without a rebreather would need to re-supply air in/out of the tunnel.

 

[ScubaToneDog]

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

Yup. In divers its Immersion Pulmonary Edema (IPE). DAN has some research on it. Some articles I've read attribute cold water, over-hydration and supplements high in omega 3 fatty acids to IPE in young healthy individuals (heart meds, cardiovascular disease and obesity affects the out of shape people).

Best part is, everyone is out with no more injuries!

 

[Dan]

So what you are saying is they walked in and as ground h20 seeped in they went for higher ground.
So that squeeze point was above them as they were walking in.
Do I have this right?

Yes. From what I understand the group went in the cave before heavy rains started (unusually early in monsoon season which was supposed to start in July). Then they noticed ground water started to seep in by rising water table. The coach has been in the cave before so he knew where the high ground in the cave. They had to pass through the restriction, which was still dry at the time.

The restriction may not be much above them. It could be down & up like a “U” shape. The only way to get to the higher ground is by going through the restriction before turning into a water-filled sump.

BTW it’s not h20, it’s H2O or just simply type water.

 

[Dan]

I have a few questions about the situation in the cave.
- When the cave was flooding the current would be moving into the cave. If that is the case water rises and the kids/coach were carried inward until they were able to "land" on the ledge.
- Am I correct in assuming that their route of rescue was different as a result of h20 being pumped out of the cave?
- Did the current change flowing outward during rescue? I heard one "expert" caver say this during an interview.
- Would their rescue have been less risky by getting them out on the same route as they came in when the h20 was at a deeper level? As a result wouldn't they have been able to avoid the squeeze area?

I may be making many assumptions and not taking into account their health, lack of skills and all the unknowns etc. Not being an engineer or caver please excuse my ignorance. I am just trying to get the big picture view of the mechanics of this incident.

The safe rescue of these individuals was a true miracle. Mazel to all the divers and support personnel involved. Condolences to the family of the SEAL who lost his life.
Thank you for your input.

I think there’s only one route to get there. The only difference is before the route was dry and after the heavy downpour rain, some low lying section of the same route were flooded.

Water current goes from high to low ground. There are several high & low grounds in the cave. There are some in-passable (too small for a human to go through) branches of the cave where the rain water can enter & exit, as shown, below. Some of the rescue divers mentioned in the early part of the rescue period that the current was towards the entrance. That’s why it took them longer to go in than out. However, later on when the rain stopped & a lot of water was being pumped out, they didn’t mention about water current being problematic anymore.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I was a teenager, I was part of a group that participated in a variety of outdoor adventures. In one of them, we entered and were guided through a non-commercial cave on private property. We got very far into it. We first had to wiggle through a tunnel through which we barely fit. We slid through a crack in a rocky section. We used a wire ladder to climb down a waterfall. With no training or cave experience whatsoever, we made our way through a number of places which would have been nearly impossible to pass through if it were flooded and we were wearing scuba equipment.

I have no information on how the team got to where they were, but it does not surprise me in the least that they were there. They could have gone there completely on their own with very little effort and then been trapped by the rising water when they began their return.

 

[Dan]

PLEASE NO -i'tll start with some hard assed ex marine getting a call from his old army buddy to get over to Thailand to lead the charge in single handily rescuing the kids, Hell leave his girlfriend ( a nurse or paramedic) and fly over to bully the Thai seals into doing it his way amid the occasional satellite phone call to his girl who will advise him what to do to administer medical aid to the victims, It will finish with him walking out of the cave with his wets suit midriff carrying a kid showing his amazing abs and somewhere in the scene an Amercian flag is flying. In the background the approving smile of the military commanders and politicians- oh yes forgot about the cans of coca cola stacked in the supplies area.

What are all these sentiments towards American for? Have you heard any of them bragged about what they have done in this mission?