Thai Cave rescue: Elon Musk in talks to help authorities top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. The billionaire's team is said to be talking with Thai authorities about the possibility of using SpaceX and Boring Company technology to help rescuers retrieve the young players and their coach from the depths of the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex. The report also said Mr Musk’s companies could provide heavy-duty pumps or battery packs. In a recent update on Twitter, Tesla CEO said about his technology: “Boring Co. has advanced ground penetrating radar & is pretty good at digging holes. “Don’t know if pump rate is limited by electric power or pumps are too small. “If so, could drop a ship fully charged Powerpacks and pumps.” A spokesman for Mr Musk confirmed the talks between Tesla CEO and Thai rescuers, but did not elaborate on their content. The Thai government hasn't accepted any offer so fair, Bloomberg reported. The members of the Wild Boar football team have been stuck inside the cave since June 23, after the group got stranded in an air pocket inside the complex due to flooding. The Thailand cave rescue in pictures Wed, July 11, 2018 Thailand cave rescue: Pictures show the dramatic rescue operation of a trapped youth football team and their coach. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 45 All 12 of the trapped football team and their coach have been rescued from a cave in Thailand Rescue divers incredibly found all 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach and began to race against time to pull the whole group out of the flooded cavern. There are currently three plans considered for the group’s rescue. The first plan involves teaching the children and their coach how to dive, the second involves draining the tunnels to adequately lower the water levels, and the third involves drilling into the caves to create a way out for the stranded soccer team. Elon Musk's companies, Boring Company and Tesla can provide support for the third and second plans. Thai cave rescue: 'No good choices' to save boys says expert There have been four months worth of food supplied to the boys owever, considering the risks brought about by the monsoon season, there have been four months worth of food supplied to the boys, in the event that rescue efforts fail and the group has to stay in the cave for long. Tesla is no stranger to humanitarian efforts and it is still currently in the process of helping Puerto Rico get back on its feet after the island nation was ravaged by Hurricane Maria last year. In Australia, Tesla is also laying the foundations of what could become a virtual power plant with 50,000 low-income households fitted with solar panels and Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries.<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox The boys and football coach trapped inside a cave in Thailand face many obstacles if they attempt to dive out of the cave before the next monsoon hits the country. Channel NewsAsia's Glenda Chong explained in details the many challenges the young boys and their coach would have to face if authorities decided to guide them out of the cave via diving and swimming through the tunnel. She said: “What’s being considered now is getting the group to dive out but this poses major risks. “First thing is the water flow is very strong in some parts. It’s also muggy, meaning visibility is practically zero. “A confined space, that’s also an issue because in some areas it is so narrow that divers had to take their tanks off to squeeze through. “Most of these young boys don’t know how to swim, let alone dive.<doc-sep>A section of the cave complex in which 12 boys and their coach are currently stranded in northern Thailand. Image : AP Earlier this week, 12 Thai boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were discovered by diving experts trapped in an air pocket deep within a submerged cave system. Water levels within the cave complex aren’t expected to drop for months, but a daring plan to rescue the boys is now rapidly taking shape. Advertisement To quickly recap, the dozen boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach, age 25, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai Province on June 23, but rising waters from heavy rains stranded the soccer team deep within the cave system, about 1.24 miles (2 km) from the entrance. On July 2, a team of Thai navy SEALS and two British cave diving experts found the team huddling on a muddy, elevated rock. Video taken at the scene showed the boys were okay, though they were in a weakened state from having to go without food for nine days. As of yesterday, a doctor and a nurse have joined the members of the “Wild Boar” team inside the cave, provisioning them with easily digestible, high-energy food with vitamins and minerals. The boys, as seen on July 3, 2018, inside the cave. Image : AP The joy of their discovery, however, quickly turned to dismay as it quickly became apparent that the boys weren’t going to leave their predicament any time soon. The long, convoluted route to the entrance is completely inundated with water, save for several air pockets along the way. What’s more, the water is thick with mud and visibility is practically nil. Some sections are so narrow that divers can barely squeeze through with their oxygen tanks, and the flow of water is very strong in other areas. To make matters worse, the monsoon season is expected to last for another four to five months, and water levels aren’t expected to drop until then (human intervention notwithstanding). Discouragingly, some of the boys don’t even know how to swim, let alone have any familiarity with scuba diving. Medicine and food are now being transported to the scene, and a backup plan would have the boys waiting it out in the cave until October or November. A four month supply of provisions and medicine has already been assembled should it come to that. Advertisement But Thai officials would rather that not be the case. Rear Admiral Apakorn Yuukongkaew, who’s commanding the Thai SEALs unit, admitted that weather is an ongoing concern, but he said the boys will be taken out safely as soon as sufficient water has been removed from the cave. “But if that doesn’t work, with the seasonal rain, we’ll do it another way,” Yuukongkaew told reporters on Tuesday. “We have ‘Plan A’ and ‘Plan B’, and ultimately, everyone will return to their parents’ embrace.” Advertisement He didn’t elaborate on either of those plans, but as The Guardian reports, around 32 million gallons (120 million liters) of water has been pumped out of the caves since late yesterday. A water pipe being placed at the entrance to a cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach were trapped inside when heavy rains flooded the cave in northern Thailand. Image : AP Advertisement The boys are also being given a crash course in swimming and an introduction to scuba diving. Thai officials are currently in conversations with Mermaid Subsea Services in Bangkok, a firm that normally provides equipment for undersea oil and gas extraction. The company is being asked to supply diving masks for the kids. Ideally, AGA Divator masks would be used, which cover the entire face and are specially fitted for children. Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, an official with the Thai contingent of the international cave diving team, said the boys will also be equipped with wetsuits (the water is very cold), boots, and helmets. Removing all the water from the cave system is likely not possible, but once levels are sufficiently low, the amount of time the boys will have to spend submerged will be minimized. Timing will be critical; officials will have to weigh the conditions against pending weather reports. Advertisement Thai rescuers prepare for a dive into the caves. Image : AP Once the rescue gets underway, a static rope, which is already in place, will guide each boy and his respective rescue diver through the murky, rushing waters towards the entrance—or, more appropriately, the exit. Alternately, a team of rescue divers would position themselves along the route, passing the boys to each other in a relay style. The journey could take as long as three hours or more, so stage tanks will be positioned every 80 to 160 feet (25 to 50) meters in case oxygen levels start to run low and tanks need to be replaced. The boys will not be expected to carry their own oxygen tanks, instead relying on tanks carried by their rescuer. Ideally, only one boy would go at a time to prevent bottlenecks. Advertisement Officials are already in the process of recruiting Thai-speaking divers, which should help to keep the boys calm and collected during the arduous journey. The dark, claustrophobic conditions could easily induce panic among even the most experienced divers. Using mining equipment to dig a passageway to the boys is not being considered, given they’re located about 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) below the top of the mountain. That said, teams are currently scouring the mountain looking for alternative ways into the cave. Advertisement These are bold, daring plans, but Thai officials are insisting that none of the boys will be put at risk. The details of plan B have not been specified, but having to wait until the rainy season ends, while far from ideal, is still a sensible alternative. [Reuters via CBC, The Guardian, Globe and Mail]<doc-sep>
A Thai soccer team remain trapped in caves due to rising flood waters Stranded within a complex network of caves, a Thai youth football team had been exploring the caverns when rising water trapped them. It took a team of British and Thai divers nine days of searching to discover the trapped boys, who were found late on Monday evening. The group were found this week hungry and frail but otherwise in good health. Rescuers now have to figure out how to ensure the safe passage of the group through treacherous and flooded tunnels. Currently, supplies of food, water and blankets have been fed through to the trapped team, whilst rescuers work out how to enable the young boys to speak to their anxious families outside the cave. The boys, aged 11 to 16-years-old, have been captured on camera inside the cave smiling despite their horrific ordeal. Where were the football team found? The Wild Boar team were found huddled on a small, muddy bank in a flooded chamber within a cave system in the region of Chaing Rai. Thailand cave rescue: Navy divers join trapped children Major General Chalongchai Chaiyakum, deputy commander of the Third Army Region said: “It takes six hours to get to where the children are and five hours to come back to the cave’s entrance.” The cave system is a snaking route which has a number of chambers already submerged in water. Attempts to pump the water from the caves are being made whilst the area experiences a period without rain, however, removing the water is a slow process. Currently, 128 million litres of water has been removed from the caves at a rate of 1.5cm per hour. The boys would need to travel through winding tunnels to escape How can the boys be rescued? As none of the boys can swim or dive, they are receiving basic swimming and diving lessons in the hopes they can be led from the cave system. However, doctors have declared that two of the boys are currently too unwell to attempt to travel through the caves. They are reported to be suffering from malnutrition and exhaustion after a doctor and a nurse spent the night with the trapped soccer team. The Thai Navy Seals travelled for six hours through the cave system to find the boys Bill Whitehouse, vice chairman of the British Cave Rescue Council, said “all feasible options for the rescue of the boys are being considered.” There have been four months worth of food supplied to the boys, with one rescue possibility being waiting until the rainy season has subsided. It is currently monsoon season in Thailand, a period of increased rain which lasts between May and November. The risk of waiting for monsoon season to end means with heavy rains, water within the caves rises even further, triggering treacherous conditions for the trapped boys. The Thailand cave rescue in pictures Wed, July 11, 2018 Thailand cave rescue: Pictures show the dramatic rescue operation of a trapped youth football team and their coach. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 45 All 12 of the trapped football team and their coach have been rescued from a cave in Thailand