quote:

6 HRS? OMG, is that all underwater?

Not 6 hours all underwater, but even the unsubmerged areas are getting short on oxygen, so you have to assume it's near 6 hours with continuous supplied oxygen. That means several tank changes along the way. This thing is fraught with pitfalls.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Seeing that video....

How the hell did they ever find them in the first place?

Yeah what the hell... How do you do anything like this with zero visibility?

A long plastic tube, an internal sled, and a winch would be good. But the requirement of the plastic being rigid, flexible, and seamless for such a long distance seems like a nigh impossible combination. Insert with a sealed end that is broken open at the shelf. Or the pod idea suggested earlier.

Maybe segment the tube to the water portions and pull the kid through.

I think that there must be a super pump somewhere that can do the job timely. Pardon me while I go pray.

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

quote:

Originally posted by comet24: How did he run out of air when in an underwater section? Absolutely no reason for this.
.

Yep, yet this is number one killer of unexperienced divers going into caves.

Worse was the quote that his "buddy" found him. Where was the buddy as he burned his tank dry?

I wonder if they were diving a single tank.

Not only in caves but wrecks also. I can't count the number of times I have heard of a diver fatality inside a wreck and it turns out it's someone with a single AL80, maybe one light and no line.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Seeing that video....

How the hell did they ever find them in the first place?

Yeah what the hell... How do you do anything like this with zero visibility?

Slowly using your hands, lots of patience and mapping-out as much as possible. They'd been missing for 8-days before being found, there's all sorts of nooks and crannies, chimneys and climbs that the divers had to snuff-out before coming across the team. It's as much work above water as it is below.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Seeing that video....

How the hell did they ever find them in the first place?

Yeah what the hell... How do you do anything like this with zero visibility?

With a crap ton of experance and training.

After seeing the video above, the problem with pumping is, the discharge is determined by the pipe diameter. Those passages are to tight to get diver and larger hoses to pump the water down. With ground water intrusion you have to pump constantly. You can't place a large diameter hose, lower the level of the water then remove it to allow access for divers or the kids escape.

I fear this will end badly but I'm praying for their safety.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Seeing that video....

How the hell did they ever find them in the first place?

Yeah what the hell... How do you do anything like this with zero visibility?

Slowly using your hands, lots of patience and mapping-out as much as possible. They'd been missing for 8-days before being found, there's all sorts of nooks and crannies, chimneys and climbs that the divers had to snuff-out before coming across the team. It's as much work above water as it is below.

Their bikes were found in the cave. Footprints further in. It looks like the endpoint of the cave was well known enough to be named "Pattaya Beach."

Not all the water is standing, either. Some pretty substantial currents.

It's a longshot, but there is the chance of a "secret passage". Supposedly the boys could hear surface noises like dogs barking and roosters crowing, even from a half-mile underground.

Anyone have any idea why they're not considering rebreathers like the SEALs use? I've only heard they're staging conventional bottles at waypoints. Rebreathers are designed for extended sessions, quite possibly the whole 6 hour trip on the same unit, plus have the advantage of not poisoning the ambient air with CO2 as they go along. A lot less staged gear as well. I don't want to believe it's the cost of these units at all.

I’m surprised we’re not hearing more about a surface rescue. The water exit seems fraught with massive dangers and limited success. Bore a hole and yank em out already.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Anyone have any idea why they're not considering rebreathers like the SEALs use? I've only heard they're staging conventional bottles at waypoints. Rebreathers are designed for extended sessions, quite possibly the whole 6 hour trip on the same unit, plus have the advantage of not poisoning the ambient air with CO2 as they go along. A lot less staged gear as well. I don't want to believe it's the cost of these units at all.

Some of the early search reports mentioned rebreathers but that’s just some mentions in the news.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Anyone have any idea why they're not considering rebreathers like the SEALs use? I've only heard they're staging conventional bottles at waypoints. Rebreathers are designed for extended sessions, quite possibly the whole 6 hour trip on the same unit, plus have the advantage of not poisoning the ambient air with CO2 as they go along. A lot less staged gear as well. I don't want to believe it's the cost of these units at all.

Out of the question.
Given their complexity you need to be a very experienced diver to use a rebreather, you're not just turning on the system, pop-in the respirator and plunge-in. The chance of CO2 contamination is high and the diver needs to be versed in recognizing and treating the symptoms. Other issues like assembly of the system needs to be exact, absolutely zero margin for error, many deaths are do to poor assembly of the rebreather system; the pre-dive checks and operating protocols are more complex than an open-circuit system. The computer may or, may-not be accurate thus you need to be aware of how things are operating and contingencies should things go side-ways.

Rebreathers for the public market only recently became available. The military has been using them for quite a while, but the civilian-market had to research and engineer on their own. The units are expensive and require a technical knowledge, cave divers are the largest market for them as the two British divers who found the kids were using rebreathers.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
I’m surprised we’re not hearing more about a surface rescue. The water exit seems fraught with massive dangers and limited success. Bore a hole and yank em out already.

As if it were that easy. Digging is no quick solution.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
I’m surprised we’re not hearing more about a surface rescue. The water exit seems fraught with massive dangers and limited success. Bore a hole and yank em out already.

Drilling a hole would probably take 3 weeks +/. I don't think they have that kind of time.

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
I’m surprised we’re not hearing more about a surface rescue. The water exit seems fraught with massive dangers and limited success. Bore a hole and yank em out already.

Drilling a hole would probably take 3 weeks +/. I don't think they have that kind of time.

What's the terrain like where they would start drilling? If the spot is isolated with no roads leading to it, what type of undertaking would it be like to get the equipment necessary to the drill site? There's going to be no quick or easy solution here, that much seems clear at least.

Read at your own risk

Letters between the students and parents

The more I read and learn about this operation, the more dismal it becomes.

Damn, I hope I am wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
I’m surprised we’re not hearing more about a surface rescue. The water exit seems fraught with massive dangers and limited success. Bore a hole and yank em out already.

Drilling a hole would probably take 3 weeks +/. I don't think they have that kind of time.

What's the terrain like where they would start drilling? If the spot is isolated with no roads leading to it, what type of undertaking would it be like to get the equipment necessary to the drill site? There's going to be no quick or easy solution here, that much seems clear at least.

I'm sure they've discussed any and all rescue scenario's, no matter how far fetched. Diving out is far down on list but appears to be the most viable.