Thailand - FOUND ALIVE - Officials Believe 12 Boys And Coach Trapped In Cave , 23 June 2018

[creepcrusher]

Unfortunately it's the start of the rainy season up there, got a few more months of it.

I’m just hoping there’s a break in between. They may only need one day.

 

[Jennifer17]

I’m just hoping there’s a break in between. They may only need one day.

There is not often a day that does not have rain in the wet season. It may only rain for a few hours a day, but you have never seen rain like it. Several inches in an hour.
I worked in Bangkok for years and in the rainy season, shoes would only last a month or so, because even if you had an umbrella so much water would be running along the pavement, your shoes would be soaked through.

 

[katydid23]

It's devastating to see they have not been rescued yet. They must be freezing and hungry and very scared. I cant believe they have not been found.

 

[Jennifer17]

It's devastating to see they have not been rescued yet. They must be freezing and hungry and very scared. I cant believe they have not been found.

Those caves would be known that they are there by locals, but they would not be mapped or have any experts that know the topical layout of them.

 

[Jax49]

Missing Thai boys: Officials warn time running out in search for soccer players in caves - CNN

Senior Thai government officials warned Wednesday that time is running out to rescue teenage boys and their soccer coach, believed trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for days, and that the search to find other entry points into the cave system has taken on a new urgency.

"We will try to find other ways apart from underwater rescue because the clock is ticking," Thai Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said. "The boys (have) been in there for over 72 hours."

 

[creepcrusher]

US military has joined rescue workers in the cave.Foreign divers, soldiers join rescue for Thai children trapped in cave

 

[Jax49]

My heart breaks for their families.

 

[Hills88]

Oh my! I keep coming back to check and hope to see they found them all alive.

 

[2Hope4]

I don't like getting into an elevator if there's people already on it, I can't imagine being in a cave, with no fresh air, no food, no heat, no drinkable water. I pray these young men are able to keep their spirits up, their minds clear, and form a plan to survive. Oh how I pray rescuers are able to get them very, very soon.

 

[JerseyGirl]

some recent news stories:

Rising water halts Thai cave search dives
Rising water levels have interrupted efforts. Pumping was halted and with the entrance flooded, Thai navy divers had to stop their search. The rescue operation is now focusing on finding another way into the cave. Thai authorities said they planned to drill a narrow shaft into the mountain to create an alternative entry point.

Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis
A U.S. military team and British cave experts joined the rescue effort.

Man who got lost in 'labyrinth' Thai cave says it was a miracle he survived
A man who got lost inside the same Thailand cave recalled his experience inside the "labyrinth", saying it was a miracle he got out alive.

 

[Amonet]

Is the water in there fresh or salty? If it's fresh water they could potentially drink that to stay alive until the rescuers get there.

I opened this thread a day or two back with high hopes of them all being found safely and rescued. My heart still hopes for that but my head is saying that time is really running against them :-/

 

[Amonet]

British divers join mission to save football team from Thai cave

An article saying that three British divers have gone to the cave to try to assist, and they've also taken some specialist equipment from Britain.

Near the bottom it says that guards are taking police sniffer dogs around to try to search for alternative ways into the cave system.

 

[Davia18]

Is there any updates

 

[JerseyGirl]

Is there any updates

Dive operations at the cave restarted Thursday after an agonizing, five-hour pause due to heavy rain.

Trekking teams are also attempting to find alternate routes down into the cave system through rock chimneys, though locating potential access points on foot through thick jungle terrain has been slow.

A team of US military rescuers arrived at the site late Wednesday but couldn't safely enter the flooded cave at that time. Expert British cave divers are also on the scene.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was due to visit the rescue site Friday.

Thai cave rescue: Dives resume in search for missing boys - CNN

 

[Jax49]

Thai rescuers search for other entrances to flooded cave

Rescuers punched a hole into the side of a mountain on Thursday in a desperate attempt to drain rising water from a flooded cave in northern Thailand where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been missing for five days.

But the effort appeared unsuccessful and the situation remained dire, with no guarantee that the water will soon recede from the cave, with months left in Thailand's rainy season.

Deputy national police chief Wirachai Songmetta said he will join more than 600 people combing the mountain for possible cracks. A few shafts that were found were ruled out, but Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said rescuers are still looking at three locations. They will explore further with the geological department using equipment such as small cameras, he said.

Doesn't sound promising...

 

[creepcrusher]

I don't want to lose hope for these kids, but time is running out. Praying for a miracle.

 

[Gardener1850]

I don't want to lose hope for these kids, but time is running out. Praying for a miracle.

Me too cc. I'm concerned that the divers haven't even been able to make contact with any of them

Praying the boys found another way out or a large safe cavern with plenty of oxygen.

 

[AlwaysShocked]

The temperature inside this cave is reported to be 77 degrees F, so they won't freeze. Depletion of oxygen is not usually a problem within caves. Flooding within a cave can happen very quickly and narrow passages that were dry when you crawled through on the way in may be totally filled with water when it rains.

I cannot imagine the 25 yr.old soccer coach taking these boys in there apparently without the knowledge of their parents after their soccer practice. How prepared could they possibly have been? Helmets? Lights? Proper clothing? Proper footwear? -

This situation sounds very, very bad.

 

[creepcrusher]

The temperature inside this cave is reported to be 77 degrees F, so they won't freeze. Depletion of oxygen is not usually a problem within caves. Flooding within a cave can happen very quickly and narrow passages that were dry when you crawled through on the way in may be totally filled with water when it rains.

I cannot imagine the 25 yr.old soccer coach taking these boys in there apparently without the knowledge of their parents after their soccer practice. How prepared could they possibly have been? Helmets? Lights? Proper clothing? Proper footwear? -

This situation sounds very, very bad.

Apparently it was all in the team group chat on their phones. I posted an article earlier that said they did somewhat prepare with flashlights and food. They had gone to the cave before as a group. The timing was not good this time. The coach is also young and probably wasn’t educated enough to know how dangerous this was. Well now he knows. It may be too late though. Hope not.

 

[Elainera]

I read in one article (sorry don't remember which one) that these caves regularly flood in the monsoon season, so he should have known the potential for danger. Maybe the days prior were dry and he thought the weather would hold? But even if this was his line of thinking it was reckless to lead them all in there. I know from experience that you can't really rely on the weather forecast in the monsoon. Sometimes heavy rains suddenly take a break and a lot of crops are lost, and sometimes it's just the opposite and rains come much earlier or stronger than expected. He made a terrible mistake that hopefully he won't have to regret for the rest of his life.