13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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fountainhall

13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

Late last Saturday afternoon 12 schoolboys aged between 11 and 15 went exploring in a large cave complex near Chiang Rai led by their 25-year old soccer coach. They have been missing since then. The cave complex is said to be between 6 and 8 kilometers long. At some stage after they entered, heavy rains resulted in flash floods resulting in a rapid rise in the water level in the cave. Navy SEALS have been called in and power lines are being sent into the cave in the hope of finding the group alive in one of its many chambers. By Monday evening rescuers had reached "a few kilometers" inside the cave and found shoes and backpacks in one of the chambers. It is assumed the group had ventured further into the cave. But that now requires the rescuers to swim underwater using oxygen

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/ ... sing-boys/

Along with everyone I hope these children will be found safe and returned to their families. But I cannot help thinking the soccer coach was reckless in the extreme to venture into the cave with children who were in his care, not only in the late afternoon when light would be beginning to fade but worse in a month when flash flooding is known to occur. I recall on my early visits to Bali where I stayed in a simple hotel on a hillside seeing the water in the stream at the foot of the hill rise alarmingly in just minutes once a rainstorm had started. The cave in Chiang Rai is well known for severe flooding during the rainy season.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Captain Swing »

I read about this here in the US. Wondered if there were any updates. Apparently this was a usual thing, to go in the cave after games (Wonder why?). That doesn't make it any less irresponsible.
fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

No update for now. I'll add more once we have more news.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Captain Kirk »

Hope these kids are ok.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Undaunted »

Flooding hampers rescue efforts by Thai elite dive team:

http://www.pattayamail.com/featured/div ... ods-213905
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Gaybutton »

Today's THE NATION has a comprehensive update with photos and graphics.

See: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... l/30348691
fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

Latest three hours ago from Reuters -
“Last night we worked non-stop in order to drain water out of the cave as much as possible,” Major Buncha Duriyapan, commander of the 37th Military District in Chiang Rai, told Reuters . . .

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters on Wednesday that [three] foreign divers would join the search effort, adding that he hoped for good news . . .

“This section of the cave has not been thoroughly explored. After a couple of hundred meters the cave reduces in size to a mud floored passage 2 m wide and 3 m high,” writes Martin Ellis, author of ‘The Caves of Thailand Volume 2’.

Vern Unsworth, a British cave explorer based in Chiang Rai who has joined the search operation, said water was coming inside the cave from two directions.

“There is a watershed inside, which is unusual, it means there is water coming in from two directions,” Unsworth told Reuters. “The biggest challenge is the water. Massive amounts."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thai ... SKBN1JN097
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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CNN video coverage: The search for a missing teenage soccer team has resumed in a cave in northern Thailand. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has the details.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/0 ... pkg-nr.cnn
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Latest YouTube video of rescue scene:

"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

The latest report by Associated Press from four hours ago does not make for encouraging reading. Three British dive specialists are now in Chiang Rai and the US is sending a special team from Hawaii - but it is not yet known when they will arrive. Meantime, there has been more flooding. This results in more water pouring into the cave than can be extracted by the pumps. And that creates a huge problem for the divers in the very muddy water.
One diver said the water was so murky that even with lights they could not see where they were going, so they need to be able to lift their heads above the water.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ssing-boys
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