Community Chat

[pommom]

This is such a desperate situation.  How did the boys wind up so far down in the cave? What were they doing there?

[Goldengate8361]

I want to know this, too! I don’t understand how this predicament came about.....

[GSPgirl]

I read that is was raining and they went into the cave for shield.  

[lovesrecess]

The rescue options reported today are terrible....have the boys wait until the waters recede which could be October after the rainy season is over....or try and teach each boy how to swim and use scuba gear and have them try and maneuver their way through the three miles of narrow passageways to the outside. Those poor boys!

[gizmogal]

They went into a dry cave with no particular danger to explore.  They were with their adult coach and it was a day trip with some mild adventure aspect and a chance to learn about cave formations. They weren’t doing anything unusual or any prank and the caves get visited regularly. Their getting trapped was a horrible unforeseeable turn of fortune. 

When the monsoon hit gushing, flooding rains overwhelmed the outside environment and thus sent torrents of runoff into the cave. Then it kept raining! The boys and coach were not that far in,  but had to flee the water and go deeper and deeper to find “higher ground” within the cave. Now they got trapped in an area safe from rising water but the way out (and in,  for the rescuers) is flooded. So the challenge is how to bring them to the surface. 

Not one child, nor the coach knows how to swim, let alone manage diving equipment and techniques.  They are under nourished and need to be strengthened. They are getting high protein liquid food that’s highly digestible, they’re receiving antibiotics, and engineers are looking to solve pumping out the cave rather than risking a swim out rescue. It’s the rainy season, so a third alternative is to wait a couple of months for the rain to stop and cave water to recede naturally. Then they’ll be carried or led out. 

Oxygen lines are being pulled by divers to bolster the air supply.  Medics will visit, but only 2 adults at a time can be sent in for now until there is extra air. Officials are also assessing the possibility of bringing in a phone line so families can talk to the youngsters and reassure them and themselves that there is hope. In fact, there’s a lot of hope of eventual rescue, but solutions will take possibly weeks. 

Hope that helps understand the context. There is a lot of information on this on science oriented Internet sites that cover the technology and rescue efforts more than the human interest value news sites emphasize. Specialists from all over the world are contributing equipment and expertise. 

When these trapped kids are very old men, they will have stories to tell their grandchildren. God has seen fit to provide for them. They have been found they will be delivered. 

[Goldengate8361]

I just don’t get it.....if they went in for shelter, why are they so far up? (3 miles???)

[cancun08]

According to what I've read, it was a initiation ritual.

[MyShadowLove]

It's an amazing story!...I wonder also why their Coach would lead them into such a dangerous area underground?....It sounds like it is going to be a very complicated effort to rescue them safely and successfully!

[Another new name Sue]

This situation reminds me of those miners in South America who were trapped underground so long, remember?  I hope this story has a happy outcome like that one. Waiting until October sounds unthinkable. 

[Deb665]

@gizmogal Thank you for the excellent explanation!