Rescue Diver Killed In Luang Cave Complex

By Khaosod English

 

Rescue divers search Tham Luang Nang Non on June 29. Photo: Thai NavySEAL / Facebook

 

By Todd Ruiz and Jintamas Saksornchai

 

CHIANG RAI — Three nights after an unlikely miracle, a massive search-turned rescue effort in northern Thailand took a tragic turn when one of the rescue divers died late Thursday night.

 

Petty Officer 3rd Class Samarn Kunan, 38, died inside the Tham Luang Nag Non on day 13 of the operation, the deputy provincial governor said Friday morning.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/calamity/2018/07/06/rescue-diver-killed-in-luang-cave-complex/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-07-06

RIP.

 

 

Gee wizz. Not good at all.

?

Chiang Rai: Thai Nave SEAL dies during rescue

By The Thaiger

 

 

A Thai navy SEAL has died while on the way way back to the ‘hall 3’ area from where the 13 footballers are stranded. He was participating in the rescue of the 13 footballers in the Tham Luang Caves in Chiang Rai.

 

Apparently, according to a media briefing in Chiang Rai at 9.30am, the Thai diver was undertaking a long dive, fell unconscious and could not be revived.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/chiang-rai/chiang-rai-thai-nave-seal-dies-during-rescue

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2018-07-06

Absolutely tragic.

RIP 

 

It again highlights the dangers everyone is facing to get the team out.

 

RIP to a brave guy.

 

Worrying for them getting the lads out that way.

Tragic that a brave man loses his life while trying to rescue others. It does clearly show that even fully trained divers have problems navigating this cave. The idea of bringing the kids out by diving seems to be far more dangerous than some have been suggesting.

RIP Samarn Kunan. You will be remembered.

lets hope this phase of the operation is not starting to go sideways.

 

 

Sad piece of news. Condolence to the family. Hope this sad news don't dampen the spirit of the rescue personnel. I don't see the logic of transferring the Governor at this crucial period after he has lead and coordinating the operation in the last 13 days. Really not the time for politics at this crucial stage. 

What a tragedy.....RIP!

Quote

Narongsak was not present Friday. He was transferred to another province.

 

Wow, if accurate, that's pretty amazing on the part of the Central government.

 

I mean, I think this guy's role, like everything else, has probably been overplayed and trumped up by the frothing local media.  But still, he was the incident commander, apparently, and to yank him in the middle of the operation speaks volumes about those higher up in charge.

 

4 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

lets hope this phase of the operation is not starting to go sideways.

 

And the day before, there was the little remarked upon item reported here by one of the news stories about the plans for setting up a telephone link to the kids suffering a setback when the telephone equipment "fell into the water." ????

 

Thailand cave rescue: Diver dies while taking in supplies

 

A former Thai navy diver who joined in search efforts to rescue 12 boys and their coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand has died.

 

Saman Kunan, 38, lost consciousness on his way out of the Tham Luang cave complex after delivering supplies to the missing group, officials said.

 

He could not be revived by his colleagues.

 

Full story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44734385

 

-- © Copyright BBC 2018-07-06

7 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Tragic that a brave man loses his life while trying to rescue others. It does clearly show that even fully trained divers have problems navigating this cave. The idea of bringing the kids out by diving seems to be far more dangerous than some have been suggesting.

RIP Samarn Kunan. You will be remembered.

 

One of the news reports here yesterday did a very good thing, and that was finally describing in detail just what was involving in making the journey from the forward command post in chamber 3 to where the kids are located. And that being, a whole series of underwater passages intermixed with surface areas that require hiking, and some of the underwater sections very narrow and constricted.

 

From those descriptions, it's nothing like diving or swimming underwater in the ocean, etc.

 

Thai rescue diver dead after falling unconscious in cave

 

Military personnel gather as they prepare to go in to Tham Luang cave complex, as members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach have been found alive according to local media in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai rescuer has died after falling unconscious during part of an operation to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a cave complex in northern Thailand.

 

Samarn Poonan, a former member of Thailand's elite navy SEAL unit who was part of the rescue team in Chiang Rai, died on Thursday night after entering the cave to lay oxygen tanks along a potential exit route, the SEAL commander said.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-06

If they are still planning on taking the boys out by diving, I hope they will keep this incident from them. They will be scared enough without knowing that an expert has died while going out.

Very sad news shows just how dangerous this is and how brave all the divers are.

wow the live report from Khadsod English says the cave's oxygen levels are dropping.

 

 

Damn!

R.I.P.

When the news first broke that they had found the kid I, like everyone else, was overjoyed.  But I turned to my Thai wife and told her "Now the real problems start." She asked me what I meant, and I asked "How the hell are they going to get them out?"  

They joy and happiness at finding them may soon be replaced with the tragedy of losing some of them.

 

 

Oh dear. That's very sad news.

R.I.P.

Condolences to the family.

 

 

Ex-Navy SEAL involved in cave operation dies 

 

 

The marathon rescue operation to bring 13 young footballers out of a flooded cave in Chiang Rai claimed its first fatality on Friday when a former Navy SEAL diver died while working in the cave.

The 38-year-old former SEAL, who had joined the rescue operation, collapsed during the operation in the Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district at 1am on Friday. 

 

Petty Officer 1st class Samarn Kunun was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared dead, Naval Special Warfare Command chief Apakorn Yukongkaew said in front of the cave.

 

The 13 Mu Pa Academy football club members have been trapped inside the cave since June 23. They were found on Monday night but still cannot leave the cave because of the high water level.

 

Samarn died at 1am on Friday after collapsing on his way back after delivering oxygen tanks inside the cave, Naval Special Warfare Command chief Apakorn Yukongkaew said.

 

“Samarn took three oxygen tanks to the area where the boys are stranded, which is about 1,700 metres [from the base camp]. Though it does not look like a long distance, a one-way trek through the tough conditions takes about 5-6 hours. This means we use altogether 12 hours on one return trip,” Apakorn explained.

 

Samarn was brought to the cave’s chamber three, which is serving as the base for the operation. Samarn’s diving associate tried to resuscitate him by performing CPR on him but he did not regain consciousness and was declared dead by the hospital doctors. 

 

Apakorn said Samarn was certified with the special operations of SEAL and he had quit to work for the Airports of Thailand (AoT) at Suvarnabhumi Airport. He joined the operation to secure freedom for the Mu Pa footballers with the cooperation of AoT.

 

HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn will sponsor his funeral.

 

Apakorn said he was deeply saddened at the loss of his former SEAL member but the operation will continue to bring the boys out of the cave as soon as possible.

 

He said he had never had to deal with an operation in a cave but the rescue team will have to come up strategies. He described the ongoing operation inside the cave as challenging.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30349459

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-06

42 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Tragic that a brave man loses his life while trying to rescue others. It does clearly show that even fully trained divers have problems navigating this cave. The idea of bringing the kids out by diving seems to be far more dangerous than some have been suggesting.

RIP Samarn Kunan. You will be remembered.

Falling unconscious.... Sounds like he ran out of air, which means he was diving with a tank....

 

Why can't they rig up a system where a dive mask is connected to an air-line and air is manually pumped using a rotary pump operated by a team and one kid at a time brought through each flooded section at a time starting with the coach who got them in that situation in the first place.... I think igt is their ONLY hope.

 

Each person will need to be shepherded by experienced (NONE THAI) cave divers...

 

they MUST do something soon because this year has seen a very very rainy dry season and god only knows how bad the monsoon is going to be like this year.

 

Bering sea gold divers can stay under water for literally 8 hours at a time on an air line and mask setup.

The reality of the danger kicks in right now!! This has got to have a very negative effect on the other divers and their own confidence in getting the job done.

Regular divers should not venture into the cave only those with cave diving experience. It is a highly specialized field and only those who have the right mind set qualify.

RIP you are a hero to all of us!! 

31 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Tragic that a brave man loses his life while trying to rescue others. It does clearly show that even fully trained divers have problems navigating this cave. The idea of bringing the kids out by diving seems to be far more dangerous than some have been suggesting.

RIP Samarn Kunan. You will be remembered.

You said what I was going to. Those saying it was a simple matter of training to get the boys to dive through the flooded tunnels will now have to think again. If a SEAL can die, what hope young boys with no dive experience or swimming ability?

I know that I'd rather wait till the water goes down than risk it in a claustrophobic flooded tunnel, and I'm a SCUBA diver. Apparently there are places so narrow that it is single file. Way too easy for a small boy to panic and die, and that would be worse than waiting a few months. Given an electricity and phone cable and some home comforts, the time would be boring but hopefully result in success.

 

I hope they give this guy the highest medal LOS has for bravery. RIP.

2 minutes ago, Brewster67 said:

Falling unconscious.... Sounds like he ran out of air, which means he was diving with a tan....

 

Why can't they rig up a system where a dive mask is connected to an air-line and air is manually pumped using a rotary pump operated by a team and one kid at a time brought through each flooded section at a time starting with the coach who got them in that situation in the first place.... I think igt is their ONLY hope.

 

Each person will need to be shepherded by experienced (NONE THAI) cave divers...

 

they MUST do something soon because this year has seen a very very rainy dry season and god only knows how bad the monsoon is going to be like this year.

 

Bering sea gold divers can stay under water for literally 8 hours at a time on an air line and mask setup.

As the distance is apparently about a mile, using an air line is a non starter. Anyway, the problem isn't air, it's panic by the kids which would absolutely be expected.

My deepest condolence to the family and friends of K. Samarn.

 

IMO, one of the true heroes of 2018, along with every other volunteer and enlisted person involved with this.

Maybe now some serious attention will be directed towards the drilled rescue shaft option.