Children missing in Thai cave found.

[eloisesparkle]

It appears the children and teacher have been found alive.
Has a miracle happened ?
I am so delighted and hope they will be ok after their horrific ordeal.
It's always nice to see good news as lately all the headlines are of something bad having happened.
Please forgive me if there is already a thread on this topic.

This is a good graphic of the challenges they face. From the Been.

There is also a steep incline to navigate and the water isn't clear so visibility will be very low. There is also a very real concern that the boys may panic.

It’s just horrifying to watch and I don’t see it ending all well. I still don’t really understand how they got there in the first place, did they go through the tiny 70cm gap?

a 70 cm gap doesn't seem so small when it's dry. that's not much narrower than a door's width

Yes but a door gap is also 6ft high, you can walk through it. Gap the divers have gone through to get to them is about 70cm wide and by the look of it not even that tall. It’s a narrow tunnel. It really isn’t comparable to a door.

• not even 70cm tall

I don’t see how any of them
Will make it out. I think about this all the time. It’s so Upsetting

kirsten I agree such a small gap even dry wouldn’t be very appealing.

I think they may have been forced to go through it as water filled the chambers nearer the entrance.

I can’t imagine all 13 would have agreed to squeeze through such a tight space for fun.

Even though it might not seen appealing and is now filled with water, there is the logic that if you can get in you can get out, and they would be following someone bigger than them, so if the adult can get through so can they. It is possible, though challenging and risky, but the biggest part of that will be getting them accustomed to bring underwater, which I imagine is what they'll be doing where they're located now.

Also, they will be telling the kids everything to keep them positive, so I very much doubt they know details like the weather forecast or the diver dying. Something like that will be as much about believing you can and gaining confidence from the confident divers they are with.

They have got an air line in
Also busy drilling more than 100 shafts into the mountain to find a way out www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-cave-rescue-over-100-chimneys-drilled-into-mountain-extraction-likely-in-one-or

In the spirit of grasping at straws - there are reports that the coach had been a monk and has practice in meditation .

Perhaps this was a skill he shared during the 10 days before being found ? Perhaps it will help keep the boys from panicking ?

peridito The coach was a monk for ten years. Many of the boys may have stayed at monasteries also. This has been cited as the reason why they were in such good condition and spirits when found. They had been meditating.

www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/family-friends/thai-cave-coach-lost-entire-family-aged-10/news-story/f707d6791ab0424c4321ce327951a25d

www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12084780

I've seen the maps of the cave structure, but haven't seen anything which shows the other end of the cave. Is there another exit further on? I'm guessing it's so unexplored and maybe it doesn't go anywhere, but is there another exit if they continued on?

I think kids are probably less likely to panic than adults. They (hopefully) haven't heard the news reports about the death of the diver, they (hopefully) haven't heard all the discussion about how hard it will be. They could be persuaded it's a dangerous adventure.

I would be trying now to dive them out slowly, calmly, one at a time, with plenty of time to go. I would not be leaving it until I was forced to act then feeling under immense time pressure to do it.

Although clearly I am safely sitting in my dry sunny garden with my sons safely indoors playing Fortnite so what do I know?

I'm glad it's not my decision for sure. If any one of them dies you will for ever have armchair experts like me debating how you should have done it differently.

I wonder if the families have had the risks explained to them and might have any input into the decision? Although I suspect my input would be "bring them out right now" with lots of tears, which would not be helpful to anyone.

I would be trying now to dive them out slowly, calmly, one at a time, with plenty of time to go. I would not be leaving it until I was forced to act then feeling under immense time pressure to do it.

That's what I thought, because once the rain comes that's going to change everything, very quickly.

Oh God, some of the letters they have written their families had me bawling. It's all I can think about

Come on boys, you can do it

My dc would most definitely panic. I know what it's like trying to persuade them to do something they find scary, like jump in the swimming pool or go through a medical procedure. They just freak out and there's no reasoning with them. They're about the age of the youngest boys. I can't imagine how they wouldn't panic and kill us all in that situation.

I would think that however risky, sedating them would be the only way.

There was a good article about why sedation would be so difficult. In large part due to the length of the journey out (4 hours ish) and the lack of medical supervision.

I can see how dangerous it would be. And I suppose light sedation might only serve to confuse them further and increase the risk of panicking and not cooperating? Perhaps it isn't an option at all and they have no choice but to try to bring them out without sedation?

The article I read said that when.we are sedated for a medical procedure it's usually for 20 to 30 minutes.

I agree with a PP who said rather try to move them now Vs once monsoon rains start.

Latest report. It is already Saturday night in Thailand, obviously.

www.cnn.com/2018/07/07/asia/thai-cave-spirits-intl/index.html

I guess there's a balance between leaving it longer so they are fitter and moving them soon enough before the rain.

And I like the thought of them meditating, I imagine that can only help in that situation, and possibly with getting out too.

Incredible in this day and age that we don't have equipment that will pin point where they are underneath the surface. You would think something would exist underground that they could track from the surface (that could be dropped off by one of the divers when they deliver food). Then they would know where to drill down. Heart breaking to think they're drilled 100 times down (according to the article) and they still don't think they are near!

Necessity is the mother of invention, and this sort of thing is thankfully rare.

sorry if it's been mentioned and I missed it

I was wondering what kind of temperatures they have to cope with in there?

bit puzzled at the idea it should be easy to drill down - they could set off massive rock collapse inwards doing that couldn't they?