R Soul on 3/7/2018 at 09:36
This reminds me of the Chilean miners who were trapped a few years ago. The rescuers drilled a hole and lowered a specially made lift to bring them up one by one.
Tomi on 3/7/2018 at 09:52
That's incredible indeed. I wasn't expecting this to end in a happy way, but it's great to hear that the boys are alive and fairly well considering the circumstances. I hope that they manage to get them all out soon! :) The last ten days must have been a real nightmare for those kids and their families...
Starker on 3/7/2018 at 18:29
Can't even imagine what the parents must be feeling.
Harvester on 3/7/2018 at 18:46
On the 8 o'clock Dutch news they said it might still take a long time before the kids and their trainer can be rescued from the cave. They talked about weeks or even months. At least they can bring food, water and medical assistance now. But it takes professional divers three hours to reach the kids, and those are professionals. The kids are severely weakened and can't swim, and the cave path is full of narrow corners and pools of water. Maybe if the pumps they're employing can successfully drain all the water from the cave they'll have better luck, but that's fighting against the constant downpour in the rain season. But now at least supplies can be delivered to the kids and maybe some light sources so they don't have to sit in the pitch black darkness anymore.
Tommyph1208 on 4/7/2018 at 09:00
Incredible news indeed!
I, like I guess so many others, was fearing this would end in tragedy... Its so nice to hear these stories where nations come together towards a shared goal of something greater.
I remember when I was in my teens, the Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. It is believed that 5-7 torpedos exploded in the submarine, causing the sinking, but also that a number of sailors remained alive in a sealed off area of the vessel for some time after the incident.
Back then, for the first 4 days after the incident "the Russian government initially misled and manipulated the public and media about the timing of the accident, stating that communication had been established and that a rescue effort was under way, and refused help from other governments. " - Quote wikipedia
I remember thinking how terrible it was that for reasons unbeknownst to me (I'm assuming either Russian pride, or military secrets on-board the sub) different nations were NOT working together to try and save these men....
This story is extremely heartwarming by comparison.
Tomi on 6/7/2018 at 08:31
Yeah, I read about that this morning and my heart sank a little. I think I may have underestimated the gravity of the situation a bit. I knew that the solution is not as simple as "give the boys diving gear and push them in the water" but I still thought that it couldn't be that hard. I mean, not deadly hard at least. Even the concept of such a massive cave feels weird to me.
Anyway... If an experienced professional diver dies in the cave, what chance do the kids that can't even swim have? I'm really hoping that this case will have a happy ending without any more casualties!
Medlar on 6/7/2018 at 08:37
I guess the solution is either to wait until the monsoon stops or do as they did in the Chile mining accident and drill down to them. Difficult decisions.
Tomi on 6/7/2018 at 10:33
Apparently the oxygen level inside the cave is dropping, so that's one more thing to worry about. Also, I read earlier that the drilling approach may not even be possible. In Chile the miners were able to carry the tons of debris out of the way, but it's a lot trickier in this cave as there's not so much space.