I was wondering if the first rescue was the best divers handling only 4 boys.

Now that the concept worked, perhaps they are stepping up to high production rate.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
One question, do those cans contain oxygen (which the media tends to call it), or just compressed air? Is the latter a fire or explosion hazard?

They are likely taking O2 bottles into the cave to get more oxygen into the air in the cave itself since the O2 percentage has dropped so much.

It's very unlikely they are diving with 100% O2. 100% O2 will kill you if you breathe it below 20'. The partial pressure of the gas below 20' can cause you to have convulsions, which underwater is deadly.

It looked like some of the cave divers may have been using rebreathers at one point in the search. They would have O2 tank and a diluent tank(likely air at these depths) but they are not breathing 100% O2.

In diving, 100% O2 is used as a decompression gas. Breathing 100% O2 removes the nitrogen much quicker in your body reducing your decompression time. The caveat is you don't switch to your 100% until your at 20'. I've used 100% O2 on almost all of my planned deco dives.

FWIW most divers will never need or use 100% O2. You need special training to dive it. Dive shops here in the US will not even fill your tank with 100% without showing a special certification card.

My understanding is they will try to get 8 boys out today. As we go to bed they will be starting to bring them out.

Each child is escorted by two cave divers. One in front and one behind. The front diver carries the air supply for the child. The kids will be wearing full face masks, not sure about the team escorting them.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Is the latter a fire or explosion hazard?

Pure oxygen would be a fire hazard. Any highly compressed gas cylinder (tank) is an explosion/missle hazard if dropped or struck in the just the right way. Though this is very uncommon.

Remember that these cylinders are filled to about 3000psi. See Mythbusters:



Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEJGNLTo84

From NYT.

The cave entrance is marked.

I added the red arrow for where the soccer team is (from another NYT pic). They are about 3000 feet underground at the arrow.

The cave appears to run into the mountain, then "T" to the left and right. It was the left path the team followed.

Looks like it'll be another half-day before Phase 2 can commence. The initial supply of air tanks was fully used for Phase 1, so replenishing them all has added extra hours.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk and cos. is seriously working out an alternate plan that uses a hastily mocked-up cannister-shaped "mini-sub". Testing is to be completed today, with plans to have the aluminum vessel placed immediately on a 17-hour flight to Thailand.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Most likely the bottles are straight air. There is no depth/pressure problem, so there would be no need to use O2 for decompressing. Straight oxygen could be a fire hazard, but if the O2 level where the kids are has dropped to 15% as reported, bringing in oxygen would be helpful. However when swimming out, there is no need for 02.

Bottles in images are labeled basic Nitrox from what I see, though I don't know about the smaller one on the guy on the center right.

CNN and Fox reporting a 5th boy rescued

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2...o-get-to-others.html

I read on another site that 6 have now been rescued.

flashguy

Reported 5,6, and #7 rescued this morning. And now #8!

Awesome news.

At this point, I'll count the chicks before hey hatch and declare they will all be rescued.

Now I may have this wrong, but I have been wondering how far up the cave went from the entry point.

There is a pic a few posts above of the Doi Nang Non mountain range. The elevation at the tip of the red arrow is about 3600 feet. If the location of the soccer team is about 900 meters below that tip, then the soccer team was trapped at slightly lower elevation than at the base of the mountain.


video from the Thai Navy Seal Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/ThaiS...os/1630653307058062/

Glad to hear that another set has been returned to the surface successfully!

bama put us onto the Amanda Hodge site.

She is now reporting the rescue has been suspended for the night.

ET 930 am Mon, Thailand 830 pm Mon


adding:

some good graphics of the cave:

https://www.facebook.com/Chann...s/10155705835027934/

quote:

Meanwhile, Elon Musk and cos. is seriously working out an alternate plan that uses a hastily mocked-up cannister-shaped "mini-sub". Testing is to be completed today, with plans to have the aluminum vessel placed immediately on a 17-hour flight to Thailand.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/08...ve-rescue/index.html

Once again, the tech bros and their 'we're disruptors' mindset went about and built something, without considering the problems at-hand. If a diver has to remove their bottles in order to get through the choke-points, how is this thing even relevant? The only application I can think of for such a contraption is if the victim is injured or, handicapped and has to be placed in a dry space in order to be removed from a near open-water environment. SMH

I keep seeing news accounts saying the "Thai Navy SEAL's are getting them out" but aren't the actual special divers doing this mostly from Australia?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I keep seeing news accounts saying the "Thai Navy SEAL's are getting them out" but aren't the actual special divers doing this mostly from Australia?

I think it's a team effect but I'm sure the divers escorting them through the flooded sections are real cave divers. There are some there from a few different countries.

quote:

Originally posted by BansheeOne:

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
Most likely the bottles are straight air. There is no depth/pressure problem, so there would be no need to use O2 for decompressing. Straight oxygen could be a fire hazard, but if the O2 level where the kids are has dropped to 15% as reported, bringing in oxygen would be helpful. However when swimming out, there is no need for 02.

Bottles in images are labeled basic Nitrox from what I see, though I don't know about the smaller one on the guy on the center right.

Looks like they are labeled the small tank on the left as "AIR". Who knows what is in the other tanks. Could be a Nitrox mix. No need for it depth wise from what I understand but if O2 levels are low it could be beneficial. A high O2 concentration in the tank means your exhaust breath will contain more O2.

I wonder if the extra tank on that diver is their idea of redundancy.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I keep seeing news accounts saying the "Thai Navy SEAL's are getting them out" but aren't the actual special divers doing this mostly from Australia?

5 Thai SEALs, and I believe 13 foreign divers.