Thai Students Trapped in Flooded Cave Found Alive

[Chance]

I don't have quite enough time to type up an extensive synopsis of this, but the gist is: nine days ago, a Thai youth soccer team and their coach decided to do a spot of impromptu spelunking in an extensive cave system. A large thunderstorm swept through the area, the cave system flooded, and all thirteen people in the party haven't been heard from since. Rescuers have been trying everything they can think of to locate the students, but to no avail, and people were gradually losing hope.

Two British divers found all of them alive today. They are still trapped however, and extrication will be non-trivial.

Here's hoping this spot of happy news continues to be happy.

[RoyGBiv]

We need to have a dedicated thread for Feel-Good stories... !!
There were several today... especially this one.

[RevolverRob]

I usually think that a number of men and women have cajones made of brass.

Some of the hardiest among us have cajones made of steel.

Cave diving rescuers have cajones made of diamond.

ETA - Seriously, the stones on these folks to do this. Seven or eight days of continuously diving into the black abyss, risking your own life and limb, searching for these kids. Not giving up, despite overwhelming odds. The sense of relief finding them - alive - must have been overwhelming. That's dedication. Maybe there is hope for humanity, yet.

[Chance]

Cave diving rescuers have cajones made of diamond.

Can't breathe, can't surface, and the water is opaque with mud, so what light your brought with you doesn't matter worth a shit anyways....



The world is richer for having people so crazy.

[RJ]

I have briefly looked into a cave / cavern diving and decided early in my SCUBA career there was NO FUCKING WAY I was going into an overhead environment.

Hats off to the rescuers.

[RoyGBiv]

I have briefly looked into a cave / cavern diving and decided early in my SCUBA career there was NO FUCKING WAY I was going into an overhead environment.

Hats off to the rescuers.

My wife tells a good story about her open water certification dive in some spring in FL.
She was about 18-ish. Her and her brother were diving with a guy they described as "Rambo Wannabe with Issues".
They did their dive in the springs, then the dive master led them into some caves, which included her and her brother buddy breathing on one tank that they passed back and forth because they couldn't get through the cave with the tank on their back.

Thankfully there's no notable ending other than survival.
It's amazing the stupid stuff we survived doing in our youth.

Hats off to the rescuers... It was beginning to feel like an unhappy ending was in the works.
Looking forward to the movie!

[TGS]

I knew Edd Sorenson (quoted in the article) when I was still cave diving.

I'd trust him over a bunch of fucking navy divers and doctors with no experience in cave diving. They've got no business being there......the skill sets are nowhere near compatible or have any cross over whatsoever. It's apparent from the gear they're wearing that they're way the fuck out of their league....hopefully they're listening to the actual cave divers on scene, otherwise it's a very real (even likely) possibility they will become a death, complicating the situation.

Imagine trying to conduct a phreatic extrication with someone who is not a cave diver. The vast majority of failures in cave training after the first day are people freaking in low/no-visibility conditions when they (purposefully) are taken off the line. A regular person isn't even going to be able to index the line correctly. The idea amounts to criminal negligence IMO.

I usually think that a number of men and women have cajones made of brass.

Some of the hardiest among us have cajones made of steel.

Cave diving rescuers have cajones made of diamond.

ETA - Seriously, the stones on these folks to do this. Seven or eight days of continuously diving into the black abyss, risking your own life and limb, searching for these kids. Not giving up, despite overwhelming odds. The sense of relief finding them - alive - must have been overwhelming. That's dedication. Maybe there is hope for humanity, yet.

Eh. There's techniques to do it safely and it certainly takes a level of competency, planning, know how, awareness and self control.....but I wouldn't say it's anything to do with diamond cajones. I've certainly never had anyone describe me that way, and wouldn't describe myself that way. The people who get in trouble are generally the people who aren't properly trained, experienced, or who are the former but don't plan "safety nets" (either out of necessity or hubris). The actual act of searching the cave is likely the same thing they're doing for fun on any other day....except now it has a sense of purpose, which always makes things easier to tackle.

[blues]

I have briefly looked into a cave / cavern diving and decided early in my SCUBA career there was NO FUCKING WAY I was going into an overhead environment.

Hats off to the rescuers.

I enjoyed wreck diving and only got snagged once or twice...but nothing freaky. If you get turned around in a cave though...different kinda feeling altogether.

[TGS]

I enjoyed wreck diving and only got snagged once or twice...but nothing freaky. If you get turned around in a cave though...different kinda feeling altogether.

As long as I had one plane of excursion, I was okay.

When you're pushing your tanks and helmet in front of you, and you're scraping rock on all 4 sides of your body......yeah. I only did that with certain people who had been there before and could show me the ropes.

I earned a nickname with one captain operating out of Morehead City as "Rusty." Always came up covered in it. There was one wreck out there that I absolutely loved......the ocean bottom was 110, but you could hit just over 130ft deep inside the ship.

[RJ]

I knew Edd Sorenson (quoted in the article) when I was still cave diving.

I'd trust him over a bunch of fucking navy divers and doctors with no experience in cave diving. They've got no business being there......the skill sets are nowhere near compatible or have any cross over whatsoever. It's apparent from the gear they're wearing that they're way the fuck out of their league....hopefully they're listening to the actual cave divers on scene, otherwise it's a very real (even likely) possibility they will become a death, complicating the situation.

Imagine trying to conduct a phreatic extrication with someone who is not a cave diver. The vast majority of failures in cave training after the first day are people freaking in low/no-visibility conditions when they (purposefully) are taken off the line. A regular person isn't even going to be able to index the line correctly. The idea amounts to criminal negligence IMO.



Eh. There's techniques to do it safely and it certainly takes a level of competency, planning, know how, awareness and self control.....but I wouldn't say it's anything to do with diamond cajones. I've certainly never had anyone describe me that way, and wouldn't describe myself that way. The people who get in trouble are generally the people who aren't properly trained, experienced, or who are the former but don't plan "safety nets" (either out of necessity or hubris). The actual act of searching the cave is likely the same thing they're doing for fun on any other day....except now it has a sense of purpose, which always makes things easier to tackle.

I have enough experience (20 years) and certifications (Put Another Dollar In Divemaster #55958) to know I’m not qualified for a cavern entrance, let alone actual no shit cave diving.

(Oddly enough I seem to recall night diving qualifies as an overhead. I actually enjoy night diving. I have a few hair standing on end stories on that... )

I guess it’s like anything; if you train carefully and with the right folks, and use the right equipment the right way, I’m sure it’s fine.

I have had enough silt-out dives at 25’ at Haymarket Quarry with students that you quite seriously cant see your hand 3” from your mask. Accounts for why I used the most garish color electric green fins and fluorescent yellow dive gloves almost all the time, even sport diving in 200’ vis in Grand Cayman off the wall.

Some of my new friends at work were and are cavern and divers. Apparently we lost a team member at work last year here in the central Fl area. He was extracted eventually, but I’m not sure what happened exactly. I was very sad to hear that.

But I digress. I was always very happy just to peek into hatchways and underhangs for critters, as opposed to getting more than my head in. Hell, the pretty fish are near the surface anyway. Redundant air sources, three cutting tools, multiple reels, several lights, etc. etc. Just never saw the benefits vs. the commitment. I’m sure it is intoxicating, just not for me.