13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Captain Swing
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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I suppose it's a possibility he could be charged, but I think it's more likely that's just a reporter's effort to find a fresh angle on the story. If they all get out safely the coach might turn out to be a hero for keeping the boys together and somehow keeping their spirits up. I have no idea if he deserves the credit, of course, but imagine the despair they must have felt sitting in the pitch dark, hungry, not knowing if they would drown or starve, worried about their families, having no idea if anyone beside their families was looking for them or even knew they were in the cave. They couldn't have known that the whole nation was focussed on saving them and the whole world knew about their plight. We can only imagine the relief they must have felt when they first saw the rescuers' lights glowing through the water. And they had the grace to thank the divers and , when told they would have to stay longer, say "See you tomorrow."
Jun

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Jun »

fountainhall wrote:I am sure someone must have thought about this, but I’m wondering if, given the key problem will be the amount of rainwater filling the cave over the next few days, there is not some way of erecting even the simplest of dams around the main water entrances and so divert at least some of it away. I expect there are too many openings, but even if the major ones were dammed, would that not reduce the amount of water getting in?
There are a number of logical things to look at, but there's no guarantee it would happen. So outsourcing some of the decision making to competent people experienced in crises management would be a start.

The following should be looked at in parallel.

1 A short term plan to be implemented if the risk of their existing chamber getting flooded looks to high. Possibly a risky dive, or whatever.
2 Actions to reduce the flooding risk. Preventing water ingress -I guess they need to divert water inflow, not just damn it. Pumping out.
3 A range of lower risk evacuation options. Capsules, alternative routes into the tunnel, removing water by pumps or even drilling drains. Support all this with technology for locating them etc.
4 Maintaining their safety with food, clothing, air, inflatable mattresses for a good nights sleep etc.
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Gaybutton
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Undaunted wrote:if anyone is at fault it is the authorities for not closing off the cave entrance knowing it was unsafe to enter during the rainy season as the posted sign stated.
Very good point. I wonder why they didn't.

Of course, with Thai thinking you never know what they'll come up with next. Are you ready for this? The TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), after the boys are safely out, wants to promote that same cave as a tourist attraction.

Nice of them to at least wait for the boys to safely get out. I'm half surprised they don't erect bleachers right away and charge admission so tourists can watch the rescue operations. It would make a great stop for the Chinese tour buses. After all, a baht is a baht . . .

Somebody at TAT, in the midst of all this, had to be the one who proposed that idea.

See: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... attraction
fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

I remember a number of reports at the start of this search that the caves are indeed closed off during rainy season. But this was said to be from the start of July till November - June is not included. This from wikipedia -
A sign advising against entering the caves during the rainy season (July–November) is posted at the entrance
I have also found information from the book "The Caves of Northern Thailand" by Martin Ellis which gives full descriptions of dozens of cave systems. Of Tham Luang Cave it states
As most of this cave floods in the wet season it can only be explored between November and June.
Given that June can also see a lot of rain and flash flooding, I wonder why the start date is not June.

https://books.google.co.th/books?id=9Gw ... es&f=false
Gaybutton wrote:Are you ready for this? The TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), after the boys are safely out, wants to promote that same cave as a tourist attraction.

Nice of them to at least wait for the boys to safely get out. I'm half surprised they don't erect bleachers right away and charge admission so tourists can watch the rescue operations. It would make a great stop for the Chinese tour buses. After all, a baht is a baht . . .

Somebody at TAT, in the midst of all this, had to be the one who proposed that idea.
I think that is unfair on the TAT for it and lots of travel sites have been promoting the Cave as a tourist attraction for years.

Here is another travel site that recommends the Cave as one of the 10 best things to do in Chiang Rai.
Visitors visiting the main chamber of the Tham Luang Cave can easily go into the second chamber by crossing a stone gate. It is believed that King Rama IV built the stone gate for the sake of safeguarding its inhabitants. Once you move into the third chamber, you will get to see a big statue of a reclining Buddha, which is a major iconographic and statutory pattern of Buddhism. The size of this statue is 4.9 to 5 meters (16.1 to 16.4 feet) in length. It is always better to visit the Tham Luang Cave in the morning and it usually opens at 7 am and closes at 6 pm
https://trip101.com/article/things-to-do-in-mae-sai
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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fountainhall wrote:I think that is unfair on the TAT for it and lots of travel sites have been promoting the Cave as a tourist attraction for years.
I disagree. Do you really think this is the appropriate time to even be thinking about that?


Here is the latest:




fountainhall

Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by fountainhall »

Is this the appropriate time to talk about it? Definitely not! But I don't believe it can be criticised on another front as the cave has been billed as a tourist attraction for years.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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fountainhall wrote:But I don't believe it can be criticised on another front as the cave has been billed as a tourist attraction for years.
My opinion is whether it has previously been billed as a tourist attraction or not, using this incident as a means of further promoting it, for lack of a better word, stinks.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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New video of boys. They look better but very frail

https://www.facebook.com/ThaiSEAL/video ... 306719262/
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

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Thank you Captain Swing. After watching the video on the Facebook page I spotted the same video on YouTube, but I'm not posting it because for some reason there is no sound.

I'm glad to see they have some adults with them now, food, light, and were given some sort of insulating material to keep warm, but I am somewhat surprised they are still wearing the same clothes they've been in all this time. Maybe later a change of clothes will be sent to them.
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Re: 13 Thais Missing during Caving Expedition

Post by Captain Kirk »

Gaybutton wrote:I'm glad to see they have some adults with them now, food, light . . .
I was surprised at the lack of light in that video. You'd think they'd light the place up to make it seem a tad less miserable.
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