Chiang Rai Governor: Weather is key to extracting stranded boys and coach

 

FILE photo//The Nation

 

CHIANG RAI, 5th July 2018 (NNT) - The Meteorological Department is keeping a close watch on the weather which Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said must be taken into consideration as to when the 12 local boys and their football coach trapped inside Tham Luang Cave can be safely extracted. 

At a press conference on Thursday, Narongsak said that water continues to block routes the trapped football team could otherwise use to travel out of the flooded cave, adding that rescuers are speeding up the water draining process before assessing all possible rescue methods. 

Asked when the boys will be able to communicate with their parents, the governor said communication devices are being installed inside the cave but that some of them have been damaged by water. 

The governor also asked members of the press to exercise patience because it takes up to 11 hours for individuals to travel between the cave entrance and the point where the boys are located. 

He went on to say that rescuers are assessing other possibilities such as lifting the boys out through a nearby blowhole.

 

-- nnt 2018-07-05

Get them out ASAP...if it rains heavily again they will be back to square one  ?

' It takes up to 11 hours for individuals to travel between the cave entrance and the point where the boys are located ...'

 

The rescuers are true heroes. What a task lies before them. And what brave kids those young footballers are in the cave. I cannot imagine staying as basically upbeat and composed as those young guys seem to be. Wonderful!

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

lifting the boys out through a nearby blowhole.

This sounds like a better option especially as it takes up to 11 hours to travel through the flooded tunnels

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

Asked when the boys will be able to communicate with their parents, the governor said communication devices are being installed inside the cave but that some of them have been damaged by water. 

I'm baffled as to how these "Vietnam war era phone units" as they were described somewhere, could be damaged by water?

Surely the Navy Seals must use containers with a suitable IP (Ingress Protection) rating for the situation? Or perish the thought, were they just put in a number of plastic bags/containers in the hope it would be sufficient?

 

12 minutes ago, Topdoc said:

This sounds like a better option especially as it takes up to 11 hours to travel through the flooded tunnels

11 hrs going in due to current

This is why the rescue has to be ASAP

 

& not forgetting that they will need 26 SEALS if they take them out 1 at a time as I think it will be a one way mission - They wont have time or maybe just once ( to replace standby tanks ) for divers to make a return trip

Edited July 5, 20188 yr by BEVUP

"lifting the boys out through a nearby blowhole."

 

I agree this would be the safest option..  Trouble is they haven't found any suitable shafts or fissures as yet...

 

Last I heard they'd managed to get around 100m down in a couple of stages (requiring some additional digging), but there's no certainty that even if it does reach the main passage (8-900m deeper to go) that it'll be close enough to where the boys are that they still wouldn't need to dive some sections.

2 minutes ago, steve73 said:

"lifting the boys out through a nearby blowhole."

 

I agree this would be the safest option..  Trouble is they haven't found any suitable shafts or fissures as yet...

 

Last I heard they'd managed to get around 100m down in a couple of stages (requiring some additional digging), but there's no certainty that even if it does reach the main passage (8-900m deeper to go) that it'll be close enough to where the boys are that they still wouldn't need to dive some sections.

Yes it's a long way down & even though they're trying their best, time is running out

They wont have the time

Governor frets over likelihood of more rain

By The Nation

 

Along with the threat posed by the weather, keeping in touch with the Navy SEALs inside Tham Luang Cave is a major challenge in the mission to extract the trapped football team, Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn said on Thursday.
 

But all of 13 stranded footballers are in a good state of mind and in high spirits, he said.

 

Narongsak, who heads the rescue command centre, told the press the focus was now on draining water from the flooded cave and finding an alternative evacuation route via the hilltop above.

 

Fourteen days into an operation involving round-the-clock efforts, he said it was still too early to determine when the 13 members of the Moo Pa (Wild Boars) Academy football team could be brought out because their safety was the paramount concern.

 

“Our major concern is the weather because, despite our best efforts to drain the water, we cannot beat the rising floodwater level if there’s heavy rain,” the governor said.

 

“The SEALs are able to get back and forth and the stranded children are at the safe location, but a higher water level would make the rescue operation even harder.”

 

SEALs commander Rear Admiral Arpakorn Yukongkaew said the return trip from cave entrance to the boys and back took 11 hours because the T-junction remained submerged, and meanwhile a communications line had yet to be installed the full distance.

 

Narongsak said floodwater drainage was top priority, followed by finding an accessway through the mountain top over the location of the trapped footballers.

 

He offered assurance that the boys and their coach were being well cared for by the SEALs and were happy and mentally sound.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30349369

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-05

15 minutes ago, steve73 said:

"lifting the boys out through a nearby blowhole."

 

I agree this would be the safest option..  Trouble is they haven't found any suitable shafts or fissures as yet...

 

Last I heard they'd managed to get around 100m down in a couple of stages (requiring some additional digging), but there's no certainty that even if it does reach the main passage (8-900m deeper to go) that it'll be close enough to where the boys are that they still wouldn't need to dive some sections.

AFAIK they haven't yet found the corresponding spot on top of the mountain to where the boys are exactly. Knowing where they are inside the cave is not the same thing as knowing what the corresponding outside location is on rolling mountainous terrain.

 

If they drill, they need to get in at a spot before the first narrow passage, if they drill in past that point it doesn't relive the need for a dangerous and difficult dive.  So it's got to be pretty exact.

I read that boys talked of hearing dogs barking and kids above....Interesting

45 minutes ago, Topdoc said:

This sounds like a better option especially as it takes up to 11 hours to travel through the flooded tunnels

With the current, so out, it will be a lot faster.

 

Get them out the day before rains start again, 2 divers per kid, one in front, one in the bag, long airhose.

Edited July 5, 20188 yr by stevenl

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

With the current, so out, it will be a lot faster.

 

Get them out the day before rains start again, 2 divers per kid, one in front, one in the bag, long airhose.

The faster you get them out the less time they have to be trained.. the more risk. I certainly would not want to make these decisions. 

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Replying to @MabzMagz

I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but I’m happy to help if there is a way to do so

 

https://twitter.com/kenlwrites/status/1014752606705467392

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

With the current, so out, it will be a lot faster.

 

Get them out the day before rains start again, 2 divers per kid, one in front, one in the bag, long airhose.

And the 11 hours quoted was a round trip, 6 hours in, 5 hours out. That said, that is the time taken by experienced adults with skills.