Survival boxes to be dropped in cave waterways

 

 

Rescue police will on Friday drop dozens of survival boxes containing food, maps and mobile phones into chimneys near the Tham Luang cave, hoping they will reach the 13 persons trapped there a week ago.

 

The boxes also contain messages which ask that the finder to phone the rescue team and tell them their location and the extent of their water and medical supplies.

 

The boxes will be dropped into waterways and open channels at Doi Pa Mee cliff near the cave with the hope that they will float to within reach of the missing group.

 

It is unclear whether the boxes contained flashlight as divers who operated inside the case said it was dark inside.

 

A group of 12 young football players and their assistant coach went missing in the cave which is in Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park last Saturday, triggering a massive search. They are believed to be trapped in the cave due to the flash floods that have hit the area.

 

The operations have been hampered by heavy rains that increased the level of muddy water in the cave, which has very low ceilings in places. The search is receiving help from foreign experts.

 

Rescue teams are desperately seeking alternative entrances into the cave to reach the boys. However, as the one-week marker of their cave entry approaches, the operation has not yet been able to locate them.

 

Authorities are hoping that the team sought shelter now in an area inside the cave nicknamed Pattaya Beach, with rescuers led by a Thai Navy SEAL team focused on reaching that site as soon as possible.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30348914

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-29

I hope they remembered to illuminate these boxes otherwise I am afraid no one will see them.

8 minutes ago, canopy said:

I hope they remembered to illuminate these boxes otherwise I am afraid no one will see them.

My thoughts entirely. At a minimum, the boxes must be illuminated. A loud audio device inside the boxes would also help. These boxes could be the KEY to saving the children.  

They will have a mobile phone signal down there?

Why wasn’t this done on Sunday morning within 24 hours of them disappearing ?

they need the same flashing/strobe lights as per planes life jackets or even glow sticks in the boxes, if they were mounted on them they may get smashed, have to ask why wasnt this done a lot earlier

2 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Why wasn’t this done on Sunday morning within 24 hours of them disappearing ?

Hindsight? did you think of this before!

2 minutes ago, CGW said:

Hindsight? did you think of this before!

Yes, it should have been the first thing that the rescue services considered.

16 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

They will have a mobile phone signal down there?

No.

4 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Yes, it should have been the first thing that the rescue services considered.

Well done, now we just have to hope that they are able to get these packages to them, considering they still don't know where they are its a very long shot!

35 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

They will have a mobile phone signal down there?

if near a chimney maybe possible. At least for location.

 

1 hour ago, canopy said:

I hope they remembered to illuminate these boxes otherwise I am afraid no one will see them.

 

A respectful silence is maintained by many who already know the end of this.

 

 

57 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

They will have a mobile phone signal down there?

 

 

oops...

1 hour ago, canopy said:

I hope they remembered to illuminate these boxes otherwise I am afraid no one will see them.

My immediate thought followed by please phone, 555555555 - of course there will be plenty of signal strength deep underground. 

So much potential for these things to get stuck along the way. These kids can survive for weeks if they have the right motivation. Simply somehow telling them that help is coming would provide that motivation. Glow sticks are bouyant, but can also easily be taken under by small currents when they hit an obstacle. Grab as many of them as they can get hold of, mark them with a simple message like "Help is coming" and drop them into every waterway or chimney that the can find on that mountain. Hopefully one will make it to them and it will give them hope and stop the kids from taking unnecessary risks.

10 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

 

A respectful silence is maintained by many who already know the end of this.

 

 

I along with many others hope your insensitive gloom is way wrong, and hopefully we can rub your nose in your completely useless  comments. 

Hopefully they stayed as a group

Some may be hungry enough to try to swim it etc 

22 minutes ago, KiwiKiwi said:

 

 

oops...

The boxes also contain messages which ask that the finder to phone the rescue team and tell them their location

 

Oops again. 

16 minutes ago, Artisi said:

I along with many others hope your insensitive gloom is way wrong, and hopefully we can rub your nose in your completely useless  comments. 

Indeed. Remember, humans can survive for three weeks with water and no food. We can hope that the boys and coach are sitting dry in a chamber with adequate air, and that is not so far-fetched to imagine.

 

There is plenty of cause for hope. Let's keep it going.

7 minutes ago, bubba said:

The boxes also contain messages which ask that the finder to phone the rescue team and tell them their location

 

Oops again. 

What do you mean "oops again"?  The boys have been down there many times before so it's not unlikely that they do know where they are.  

2 minutes ago, bubba said:

Indeed. Remember, humans can survive for three weeks with water and no food. We can hope that the boys and coach are sitting dry in a chamber with adequate air, and that is not so far-fetched to imagine.

 

There is plenty of cause for hope. Let's keep it going.

Many people have lived well over 3 weeks without food as long as they had water

 

But, cold, wet, confused, exhausted, hungry and depressed may be heavy on their minds

 

 

'Pooh Sticks'  is better than nowt, but I fear they're unlikely to emerge alive if not found in 24hrs.

6 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

What do you mean "oops again"?  The boys have been down there many times before so it's not unlikely that they do know where they are.  

Have you ever been deep underground, sorry no phone signal. 

Just now, Artisi said:

Have you ever been deep underground, sorry no phone signal. 

Yes, I have but that is irrelevant as I didn't mention phone signals, I was referring to the fact that the boys may know exactly where they are because they've been down there many times before as location was the point being made by the poster that I responded to.

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, I have but that is irrelevant as I didn't mention phone signals, I was referring to the fact that the boys may know exactly where they are because they've been down there many times before as location was the point being made by the poster that I responded to.

And what good is it to know where they are, unless they can use the phone which they can't, so by inference - you a assuming that a phone is useful. 

2 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Why wasn’t this done on Sunday morning within 24 hours of them disappearing ?

Maybe they knew that mobile phones are useless underground?

 

Quote

survival boxes containing food, maps and mobile phones

 

I, along with all of us, really hope these young people can survive. It's a heart-wrenching situation.

 

On the broader issue: I don't know the details of this particular cave system, but all I can say is that when I went into some underground caves in Trang two or three years ago, I was appalled (I had no idea about this) that our little boat, propelled along by a Thai with an oar, would at one point pass down a very, very narrow and low rock passageway - and then we got jammed, stuck in this tiny defile under the ground for about 10 minutes. We could not go forwards or backwards. It was terrifying. The thought occurred to me then: 'If there are flash floods - we are done for'. I came out of that place (once the Thai helmsman eventually got our tiny little boat moving again) thinking: 'This is so, so dangerous and should not be blithely advertised as a harmless tourist attraction. It is a disaster waiting to happen - and should be shut down at once. It is an absolute death trap.'

 

Sadly, I fear the worst in the present situation - but hope, hope, hope for the best.

1 hour ago, Norrad said:

So much potential for these things to get stuck along the way. These kids can survive for weeks if they have the right motivation. Simply somehow telling them that help is coming would provide that motivation. Glow sticks are bouyant, but can also easily be taken under by small currents when they hit an obstacle. Grab as many of them as they can get hold of, mark them with a simple message like "Help is coming" and drop them into every waterway or chimney that the can find on that mountain. Hopefully one will make it to them and it will give them hope and stop the kids from taking unnecessary risks.

That's a really good idea. 

Glow sticks. 

Is this the first ever cave rescue mounted in Thailand, a country whose numerous caves and caverns attract tourists as well as locals? One could be forgiven for thinking so from events unfolding at Chiang Rai. It appears the government had no contingency plan or dedicated team trained ready to meet this kind of challenge and is relying largely on imported expertise.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I have nothing but respect and admiration for the domestic and international rescue teams involved, and it is reassuring for loved ones of the missing footballers to see the PM belatedly putting in an appearance at the site. 

 

However, as other forum members have observed, some of the measures now being taken - such as test drillings and launching emergency survival kits - could have been implemented days ago, assuming the Thai contingent running the show actually had thought of them.

 

It is also clear that this cave, like many others open to the public in LOS, is hazardous even to experienced caving addicts, some of whom are now telling their scary stories to the media. A potential killer cave if ever there was one. Yet no detailed maps. No guides. No lighting. Just a sign outside the entrance (only very recently erected by the look of it) warning of possible flash floods from July!

 

Like everyone else on this forum, I am praying for a happy ending to the current drama. Just as fervently, I pray the government will put together a national fast-response cave rescue team, plus a coherent strategy for dealing with future emergencies.

1 minute ago, Eligius said:

What a fatuous, foolish comment. I had absolutely no idea what I was letting myself in for (I had never been in Thai caves before - or any other similar underground caves, for that matter  - and was taken there by a Thai friend, who said it was fun and perfectly safe). What I experienced once there appalled me - and still does. 

 

What is happening at the present time confirms the rightness of my fears ...

So let me get this straight. You had no idea that entering a cave could lead to a life threatening situation?