Trapped boys could be rescued THIS WEEK, says Chiang Rai governor

[webfact]

Trapped boys could be rescued THIS WEEK, says Chiang Rai governor

 

FILE PHOTO: Governor of Chiang Rai province Narongsak Osottanakorn, addresses journalists near the Tham Luang cave complex. Reuters: Soe Zeya Tun

 

The twelve young footballers and their coach who remain trapped in the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai could be evacuated this week, according to Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn.

 

Governor Narongsak gave a press conference on Wednesday morning to say that if the weather remains good, condition are perfect to attempt to evacuate the group this week, with rescuers continuing to make preparations for an evacuation.

 

However, the governor denied reports in Thai media that the boys will be evacuated today.

 

Meanwhile, an army spokesperson has said that no exact date has been sent for the evacuation of the boys and any rescue attempt is dependant on the water levels inside the cave.

 

While the boys are currently safe on high ground, if the flood water was to rise further, an evacuation would be almost impossible and providing supplies to the group be would much more difficult.

 

Currently water is being pumped out of the cave at a faster rate than it is coming in, the spokesperson said, but water levels have not reduced enough to carry out an evacuation.

 

Contrary to reports, the high water levels also meant that rescue workers have been unable to install a telephone line inside the cave so the boys have not yet spoken to their families.

 

Initially rescue workers said they planned to install a telephone line in the cave on Tuesday evening but that has not been possible.

 

On Wednesday morning, Thai Navy SEAL released video footage of the group inside the cave. The boys were seen wrapped in space blankets to help them keep warm. Others were seen receiving treatment for small wounds to their feet and legs.

 

All the boys appeared to be in good spirits as they gave a wai and said “sawadee khap” to the camera.

 

Navy SEAL divers and specialist medics have confirmed they will remain with the group until they are evacuated.

 

On Tuesday medics said the boys had been given clean water to drink and special high calorie gels to give them energy and vital minerals and nutrients.

 

Also on Tuesday, Thailand deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan played down reports that it could take up to four months to evacuate the boys.

 

However, on Wednesday a military spokesperson said that keeping the boys in the cave until October, which is when the monsoon waters will likely have receded, is still an option being considered by rescue workers.

 

Other options that would allow the boys to be evacuated was to teach them how to scuba dive, while drilling an escape route from another area of the cave has also been discussed.

 

In an interview with Sky News, diving expert Ben Reymenants who is at Tham Luang and involved in the rescue mission gave an insight into the conditions inside the cave.

 

“This is one of the more extreme cave dives that I have done. It is very far, and very complex. When it starts raining the flow is so hard you can barely swim against it and the visibility reduces to zero,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, BBC correspondent Nick Beake shared a video of Thai soldiers forming a ‘ring of steel’ as they carried out an evacuation drill.

 

The military form a ring of steel at the cave complex where the boys are stuck - to allow medics to stage a rehearsal of what they’ll do when there’s a rescue attempt. #thamluangcave #thamluang #ถ้ำหลวง #13ชีวิตติดถ้ำ pic.twitter.com/Hp092Qvb5C

— Nick Beake (@Beaking_News) July 4, 2018

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-07-04

 

 

 

[AlexRich]

The sooner they get them out of there the better. This drama is far from over. Good luck to the rescue team.

[Badrabbit]

They are experts and hopefully know what they are doing, I've been in bad fires using breathing apparatus etc even with thst experience there is no way I could make that journey out of the cave through murky water possibly a current etc they are children with no experience at all of the situation they are in, I sincerely hope the experts are 100% sure diving them out will work, I for one will be preying for them all!!

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[webfact]

Ease boys back into normal life, psychiatrist advises

By The Nation

 

 

A psychiatrist who specialises in child and adolescent issues offered guidelines on Wednesday by which the 12 young footballers trapped in the Chiang Rai cave can avoid lingering trauma over their ordeal.

 

Dr Wimonrat Wanpen, deputy director of the Rajanagarindra Institute for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, said the earliest signs were good, based on the brief conversation the youngsters had with the British cave rescue experts who found them and videotaped the encounter.

 

The boys seemed happy, she said, but nothing else can be concluded at this stage.

 

Their mental condition after days of being trapped in the dark, flooded cave could swing, Wimonrat said.

 

“While they were waiting for help, they might at times have felt angry at having to undergo such an ordeal and at other times despair, and then they’d become hopeful that help was on the way,” she said.

 

“They might have been mentally bargaining with themselves – ‘If I get out, I won’t do this or that and I’ll be good’ – or whatever. Children face different mental impacts because of their different backgrounds and emotional makeup.”

 

Once they’re brought out, the focus must be on their physical recovery, and their mental state can be addressed later, Wimonrat said.

 

By way of guidelines for their eventual treatment, she said they should not be asked repeatedly how awful they felt during the ordeal because it would force them to relive the trauma.

 

Youngsters rescued from dangerous situations naturally feel immense stress in the first month, but if the stress lingers beyond that, additional care would be needed.

 

She said it’s important to let the kids resume their normal lives, and for their families to also receive mental healthcare, since they might blame themselves for what happened.

 

The children’s access to social media should be controlled so they’re not overly exposed to public comments about them, even positive comments.

 

“These kids have undergone a difficult experience, so there’s no need to do any more teaching or preaching to them,” Wimonrat said.

 

“If you were in their shoes, having accidentally made a mistake that caused so many people a lot of trouble, you would already feel guilty and sorry enough. What the children have been through in the cave is sufficient lesson for them. They already know they made a mistake. This will be a great lesson for them.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30349291

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-04

[greenchair]

I really loved that. 

There's no need to be teaching and preaching to them. They already know and have learned their lesson enough. 

their story ,  the story of their rescuers and all the countries that stood side by side will be long talked about in the history books. When they leave the cave, the positive legacy of all that transpired will stay with the Thai people and their foreign friends forever. 

I'm proud of them all. 

[Pattaya28]

So the Chiang Rai Governor has given incorrect information.

No surprises then.

 

[biplanebluey]

10 minutes ago, greenchair said:

I really loved that. 

There's no need to be teaching and preaching to them. They already know and have learned their lesson enough. 

their story ,  the story of their rescuers and all the countries that stood side by side will be long talked about in the history books. When they leave the cave, the positive legacy of all that transpired will stay with the Thai people and their foreign friends forever. 

I'm proud of them all. 

Sounds good to me

[coulson]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan played down reports that it could take up to four months to evacuate the boys

Being the expert on time....

 

It will be 5 years his mob will have taken to organize a simple ballot, he doesn't have any ground to start going on about any projected timescales.

 

Go back to the national security trough, you muppet.

[klauskunkel]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai soldiers forming a ‘ring of steal’

Typo. Definitely typo. Not a Freudian slip. Typo!

[BobbyL]

However, the governor denied reports in Thai media that the boys will be evacuated today.

 

I am pretty sure it was him who started that rumour yesterday. He may be the governor, but if he hasn't anything concrete based on expert advice to say, I think he is better leaving comments like this well alone. 

[holy cow cm]

Prawit needs to shut up and go stuff his mouth with a sausage. 

[IamNoone88]

3 days or 3 months, doesn't matter, just get them all out safe. As the saying goes, black cat, white cat as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat ....

[rkidlad]

Less about the boys, governor - what about you? What's your favourite food? Who are you wearing today? What's your perfect Sunday?

[Khunangkaro]

To much blabla.... 

From wishfull thinking. 

 

Of course I too wish everybody get out of that trap soon. 

 

But speculations create false rumors. (Click Bait) 

[DoctorG]

At least the psychologist had some reasonable comments. The Governor? Not so much.

[NextStationBangkok]

Finally there is good news!

 

Good luck to the boys and dedicated team.

[stevenl]

As a diver, very limited cave expettise though: they'd be going with the current, so I would not worry too much about that. Lines are there, as are expert divers, and there are areas in between where they can surface.

 

So I'd say, get them out sometime this week after the kids have gained some strength, maybe Friday or Saturday.

 

Edit: if weather deteriorates maybe even tomorrow, Thursday.

[tropo]

1 hour ago, AlexRich said:

The sooner they get them out of there the better. This drama is far from over. Good luck to the rescue team.

I'm sure the different rescue teams have different ideas about safety and the risks they are willing to take. I hope the Thais in charge don't push for a quick evacuation rather than wait it out if that's the only 100% safe option. Keeping them in the cave for up to 4 months will be extremely expensive, so hopefully, they are not weighing costs against acceptable loss. I've seen a number of hints by the Thai media that they are in a hurry to attempt immediate evacuation. There was even talk about a possible extraction last night.

[Emster23]

The greatest danger now facing the group is know nothing politicians and similar useless types  spouting nonsense and putting pressure on underlings for quick action.

[Thailand]

They will not be allowed to extract them until various members of the ptb are in position for photo ops.

 

Leave it the experts get rid of the talking nonsense heads.

[scubascuba3]

As a diver, very limited cave expettise though: they'd be going with the current, so I would not worry too much about that. Lines are there, as are expert divers, and there are areas in between where they can surface.
 
So I'd say, get them out sometime this week after the kids have gained some strength, maybe Friday or Saturday.

I haven't read into this in technical detail but decompression issues are likely to be different to open water diving, also maybe not compressed air

[scubascuba3]

I'm sure the different rescue teams have different ideas about safety and the risks they are willing to take. I hope the Thais in charge don't push for a quick evacuation rather than wait it out if that's the only 100% safe option. Keeping them in the cave for up to 4 months will be extremely expensive, so hopefully, they are not weighing costs against acceptable loss. I've seen a number of hints by the Thai media that they are in a hurry to attempt immediate evacuation. There was even talk about a possible extraction last night.

The kids with no experience trying to dive under extreme conditions are likely to panic and cause a death. Perhaps better to individually parcel them up so they can't flap about and pull them out 1 by 1

[trainman34014]

Just can't keep their trap shut because they want time in front of the camera's.  They've never learned that if you haven't got anything useful, honest and truthful to say..... then keep your trap shut !

[jerry921]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

14 minutes ago, tropo said:

I'm sure the different rescue teams have different ideas about safety and the risks they are willing to take. I hope the Thais in charge don't push for a quick evacuation rather than wait it out if that's the only 100% safe option. Keeping them in the cave for up to 4 months will be extremely expensive, so hopefully, they are not weighing costs against acceptable loss. I've seen a number of hints by the Thai media that they are in a hurry to attempt immediate evacuation. There was even talk about a possible extraction last night.

The kids with no experience trying to dive under extreme conditions are likely to panic and cause a death. Perhaps better to individually parcel them up so they can't flap about and pull them out 1 by 1

Oh for sure they'll bring them through one at a time rather than all at once.

 

And in response to tropo's post, waiting isn't 100% safe either. The water could rise, there could be a cave-in, and beyond that there is the psychological risk & damage of extending the whole thing.

 

It's all risky, and there has to be one person with responsibility to make the call, advised by all experts. You can't run these things by committee and try to gain consensus on the best path forward, when it's all life or death decisions and risks in every direction.

[Somtamnication]

This guy needs to <deleted> and let the rescuers design the rescue. He has no idea what he is talking about. This is not the time for PR stunts! ?

[stevenl]

11 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

21 minutes ago, stevenl said:

As a diver, very limited cave expettise though: they'd be going with the current, so I would not worry too much about that. Lines are there, as are expert divers, and there are areas in between where they can surface.
 
So I'd say, get them out sometime this week after the kids have gained some strength, maybe Friday or Saturday.

I haven't read into this in technical detail but decompression issues are likely to be different to open water diving, also maybe not compressed air

No issue since the depth will be really shallow. Nitrox or air should both be fine.

[tropo]

9 minutes ago, jerry921 said:

Oh for sure they'll bring them through one at a time rather than all at once.

 

And in response to tropo's post, waiting isn't 100% safe either. The water could rise, there could be a cave-in, and beyond that there is the psychological risk & damage of extending the whole thing.

 

It's all risky, and there has to be one person with responsibility to make the call, advised by all experts. You can't run these things by committee and try to gain consensus on the best path forward, when it's all life or death decisions and risks in every direction.

I did use the word "if" in relation to the option of waiting. I don't know what's the safest option. Only the experts can advise on that.

 

Allow me to adjust the "100% safe" to "the SAFEST option". Of course with a 4-month wait, there's more chance that a rescuer or member of a support team will perish.

 

If my wife was one of the 13 trapped in there, there is no way that she could be extracted by diving. She is absolutely terrified of water and being submerged. Perhaps some of the kids are the same. Apparently, none of them can swim.

 

 

[Jingthing]

There is no perfect risk free tactic here. Letting them stay there means risk of water rising, permanent psychological damage, and even life threatening infections. We all understand the risks of diving them out.

Just saw some big Thai authority on the news saying nothing will be done that isn't 100 percent safe. Wow. Really? Crossing the road isn't that safe.

I think the safest option by far is if they can drain the water to the point where they can mostly wade out but they might never get to that point.

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[DILLIGAD]

There is no perfect risk free tactic here. Letting them stay there means risk of water rising, permanent psychological damage, and even life threatening infections. We all understand the risks of diving them out.

Just saw some big Thai authority on the news saying nothing will be done that isn't 100 percent safe. Wow. Really? Crossing the road isn't that safe.

I think the safest option by far is if they can drain the water to the point where they can mostly wade out but they might never get to that point.

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Agree, as it’s been reported that non of them can even swim (including the Coach)


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[jerry921]

One of the two Brit divers that found them said that when it rained the current was so strong you could hardly make progress against it. During the extraction they'll be going with the current, but if it's too strong it will be like being battered along in rapids. They should fit them with full-head crash helmets and other protective/padding gear in case they lose hold of the line and get swept along.

 

Of course I suspect the rescuers will not be taking them out when the current is at its strongest, but will wait until it is close to its weakest.