The young soccer team trapped inside a Thai cave has been found. Now, the only problem is to figure out how rescuers can successfully get them out.
Current Events
Earlier this week, 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their soccer coach were found alive inside a Thai cave after they’d gone missing for 9 days. A British dive team found the 13 trapped spelunkers rail thin, deeply dehydrated, but miraculously alive. Now, experts from around the world are attempting to figure out just how to get them all out alive.
The 12 boys and their coach are trapped about a mile inside a Thai cave near the northern mountains. Unfortunately, the cave is completely flooded from the monsoon rains, which has trapped the team. So, what exactly are their rescue options? Regrettably, the choices are slim:
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SWIM TO SAFETY
Rescuers say the boys could scuba dive and swim their way to safety. The only problem is, none of the boys know how to swim. Additionally, even if they could they’d have to swim 2.5 miles to safety through treacherous and narrow passageways with about 3 inches of visibility in front of them. During certain portions of the swim that are extremely narrow, the boys would also have to remove their scuba tanks and breathing apparatuses. Expert divers with years of experience say they’d feel nervous trying to navigate these murky waters themselves. So, the risk of panic among boys with no swimming or diving experience and frail from 9 days without food is considered life-threatening and possibly too great to even attempt.
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DRILL A HOLE
Rescuers could drill a hole from the surface to the small ledge inside the cave where the boys are trapped. The only problem is, the hole would need to be about a half a mile deep, which could take months to drill through dense rock. Additionally, there is a risk of the cave collapsing onto the boys once drilling commences, or flooding further from the continuous rains.
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WAIT IT OUT
Rescuers have suggested simply waiting out the rainy season. They’re already pumping water out of the cave at a massive rate and are guessing that the pumps and natural water recession could allow the boys to simply walk out of the cave on their own. The only problem is, the process of the cave naturally drying out would take months to complete. The boys would need to be constantly delivered food, water, and possibly medical care. Additionally, their ability to resume a regular life back on the surface after months of total darkness underground would be a challenge.
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The options are not great, but unfortunately, these are the only options they’ve got. Will the world be able to come together and stage another successful heroic ending similar to the Peruvian miners’ rescue of 2010?
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DJ, thanks for this. I was hoping you’d do a post covering this story …and you did.
What an incredible human-interest story. Honestly, I haven’t stopped praying for the group since the day the news broke. One can only imagine what their families of the team -along with their coach- are going through. But it’s truly miraculous that they were all found alive!
DJ:
“The options are not great, but unfortunately, these are the only options they’ve got. Will the world be able to come together and stage another successful heroic ending similar to the Peruvian miners’ rescue of 2010?”
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that THAT is certainly my prayer.