In another moment of triumph and relief, another four boys have been rescued from a cave in Thailand.
Twelve members of a Thai soccer team and their coach had been trapped inside the cave after they took a hike inside.
The latest crew to be rescued had been in the cave for more than two weeks.
Here in Houston, the Police Department’s own dive instructor Eric Therkildsen and his team have been following the rescues.
Therkildsen said he appreciates the tight spaces divers are navigating in Thailand from their own work.
“We can do below grade training below grade drives which is not quite cave diving,” Therkildsen said. “It basically is going into sewer pipes.”
Divers in Thailand have successfully rescued eight children by placing full face masks on them.
Most, if not all, of the children, have never swum before, so they’re accompanied by two divers. One diver cradles the child underneath and a second diver swims behind.
“The benefit of putting them in front of you is if they get into a panic situation or they get stuck you can help them,” Therkildsen said.
A guideline stretched through the cave’s 2 miles of channels and total darkness has played a crucial role in the rescues
“It’s a highway that keeps them from (veering) off track and getting lost,” Therkildsen said.
Four children and their soccer coach now remain in the cave. As oxygen levels drop, the urgency to get them out increases.
“It affects how well they can function, how well they can think,” Therkildsen said. “It makes them a little more lethargic, so yes it affects everything.”
Copyright 2018 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
