12 boys of a Thailand soccer team have been found after getting trapped in a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. Officials are trying to figure out how to get the boys and their coach out safely.
CHICAGO (CBS) — 12 boys of a Thailand soccer team have been found after getting trapped in a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. Officials are trying to figure out how to get the boys and their coach out safely. They have been trapped for ten days.
CBS 2’s Audrina Bigos checked in with a local dive expert about the task at hand.
Bob Huff is a scuba expert with Learn Scuba Chicago. He said, “It’s going to be an uphill challenge for them every time they try and get a child through, if they go the underwater route.”
Huff hopes divers wait to rescue the team until after flood waters recede.
“It seems to make more sense to me to use professional divers to bring equipment and supplies back and forth until the water levels drop, than trying to force these very young children to go through a very challenging dive,” he stated.
None of the boys know how to swim. The cave where the team got trapped is one of Thailand’s longest and toughest caves to navigate. The boys are at least two and a half miles from the entrance and the water is 16 feet deep in some places. They would have to swim through narrow passages, potentially without oxygen tanks.
Visibility, stress, water conditions, and lighting conditions are all important variables Huff says rescue teams need to consider in order to get the boys out safely.
One day after rescuers found them, divers began bringing food and medical supplies to the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach.
Water is being pumped out of the cave and about 33 U. S. military members have joined more than 1,000 rescuers from around the world to plan the final escape.
“I think the biggest challenge is going to be somehow getting the kids to be able to acclimate to the skills under super stressful situations,” said Huff.
Experts say the rescue could take days, weeks, or even months, as the rain season typically lasts until October.
