Thai cave rescue - One of the divers has died
- Thread starter Hades
- Start date
Theres slightly more to it than that, particularly if it's deep.
And imagine you cannot swim, how easy do you think that would be?
The short answer is, no it’s not that simple.
I can see what you're getting at. But imagine, you have limited to no swimming skill, you have zero scuba experience, you're tired, scared, and you have to swim mostly alone through 4km tunnels in the dark with a water current and low visibility from the darkness and the crap in the water with barely enough room to squeeze through in sections. I can only imagine the fear I'd have. Huge risk of panic and error and ultimately death.
Soldato
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- 13 May 2003
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I have difficulty imagining this will end well. Unlike in Chile the location they are trapped is not safe I fear events will conspire to force a dangerous withdrawal whether that's water levels, CO2 or other hazards.
My thoughts are with all involved.
My thoughts are with all involved.
It's a shame they can't just put them in a big plastic/metal capsule with an air tank and drag/tow them out. No swimming required by them and it'd be faster than them swimming.
No. This is what it takes to complete a basic open water scuba diving course where I live:
(Source).
As you can see, the entry requirements alone are not trivial.
Associate
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I think they've got a 5-month wait until the water level drops.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they were that far into the cave system initially. Then got cut off by the rising water, and they had a choice of going deeper into the caves or drowning…
I assume that's PADI, which is fine, but nowhere near as thorough as BSAC.
Some parts are so thin you cant even wear the scuba gear normally on your back.
Also just read that the oxygen content in the pocket they ate in is at 15% (normally 21%) so I cant see them staying there long term. Even if they get some O2 tanks in to release and raise it I imagine the CO2 content is going to rise aswell
RIP to the diver - did diving for a bit and when you cant see the disorientation can be really bad
Also just read that the oxygen content in the pocket they ate in is at 15% (normally 21%) so I cant see them staying there long term. Even if they get some O2 tanks in to release and raise it I imagine the CO2 content is going to rise aswell
RIP to the diver - did diving for a bit and when you cant see the disorientation can be really bad
See, that sentence alone is a big nope from me. I don't mind admitting I'd be so scared to do that, worst nightmare situation for me.
No. This is what it takes to complete a basic open water scuba diving course where I live:
(Source).
As you can see, the entry requirements alone are not trivial.
I'm ssac qualified, albeit not too experienced (50 or so dives) most of my dives done in cold water with a drysuit, it took a lot of training and plenty of dives to just to become a sport diver, I've done some poor vis dives and short swim throughs which are pretty stressful and the heavier breathing saps the air reserves quickly, having silt rise up and not even being able to see your buddy who's only a metre away is scary as hell, you become disorientated, you can't tell which way to go or even tell which way is up, it can cause panic which is very dangerous, I've heard of reasonably experienced divers ripping off their own mask or grabbing their buddy when panicked, and that's in relatively simple locations
Cave diving is fraught with dangers, so much can go wrong quickly, even for the most experienced and well trained divers as shown already
you'd also have zero visibility
Makes me shudder just imaging doing it
I think diving them out will be the last resort and only done if the chamber becomes more flooded and not possible for them to sit it out
Despite all the training based around rescuing a diver (a big part of the sport diver qualification) one of the instructors told me if it ever came to it and their buddy was seriously panicking they would just swim away rather than put themselves at risk
I think the kids themselves diving it can only be used as an absolute last resort. Especially as it will inherently endanger other divers too.
Use of a big-*** drill to create an exit point closer to where they are is surely going to be the best way to do it? Not at all cost effective, but lowest risk to human life surely.
Use of a big-*** drill to create an exit point closer to where they are is surely going to be the best way to do it? Not at all cost effective, but lowest risk to human life surely.
Certain sections are so narrow that they have to remove thier breathing apparatus and hold thier breath.