# Missing Soccer Team Found Alive in Cave **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173 "2018-07-02T17:03:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/21 "2018-07-03T05:14:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m glad nobody had to resort to cannibalism… > > Seriously, this is good news. But did they invent their own legal system? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/22 "2018-07-03T07:23:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I would not be surprised if the Thai authorities are in contact with the crew who did that, and/or the Pennsylvania rescue a few years earlier. > > Right now the BBC is saying “for months”, not “four months”. They are also pumping water out of the cave now that they know what they’re dealing with. > > My guess is also that they will not remove the boys and man using scuba equipment unless or until it’s more dangerous not to. Oh thank heavens, I thought they said 4 months. ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/23 "2018-07-03T09:00:12Z")
I heard (on CNN) “four months,” too, and that they needed the time to train the kids to dive properly. > **[Thailand cave rescue: Search teams unsure how to free trapped boys | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/03/asia/thai-rescue-next-phase-intl/index.html)** > > The relief that greeted the discovery of the trapped Thai soccer team has given way to questions over why the boys are not on their way home. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/24 "2018-07-03T12:53:54Z")
Apparently most of them can’t swim, let alone scuba dive. There is talk of teaching them both skills. If they are there for months then learning to swim will take care of their exercise needs 🙂 [Latest from the BBC.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44692813) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/25 "2018-07-03T13:49:25Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > Apparently most of them can’t swim, let alone scuba dive. There is talk of teaching them both skills. If they are there for months then learning to swim will take care of their exercise needs 🙂 > > [Latest from the BBC.](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44692813) Yeah. I’m a diver (not very often). Learning in the shallow end of the pool when you can see light above and just stand up would be quite different that learning in the darkness of a cave. I would not be surprised if they are getting impromptu lessons, and have a LOT of scuba gear back where they are trapped. But, hmm. They way to do it would have them attached to a line that they can’t be separated from, and then have a diver pull them out along that line. Still tricky as panic is always going to be a concern. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/26 "2018-07-03T14:10:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Were they all clutching their shins when they were found? > > I’m going to Hell, aren’t I? Ok, this was funny. Say 3 hail Buddhas and you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/27 "2018-07-03T14:16:40Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > They way to do it would have them attached to a line that they can’t be separated from, and then have a diver pull them out along that line. Still tricky as panic is always going to be a concern. It has taken the best expert cave divers in the world to get there, long distance through narrow passages underwater. Exit under these conditions would be extremely dangerous for even a highly experienced scuba diver. I think if they don’t want to wait, they will have to use some kind of fully enclosed diving helmet rather than scuba. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/28 "2018-07-03T15:02:07Z")
I just saw a headline that said the coach may be facing potential charges. Child endangerment, perhaps? I didn’t read the article. However, I did read before that it wasn’t uncommon for the team to do activities like this, I don’t think it was the first time they had been to this cave, ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/29 "2018-07-03T15:47:21Z")
So when the two British divers found the missing kids, how did they communicate the location to others? Are the caves well-documented so that it’s possible to tell someone else exactly where they are? Or do they just say, about 400 yards past this point? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/30 "2018-07-03T15:52:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So when the two British divers found the missing kids, how did they communicate the location to others? Are the caves well-documented so that it’s possible to tell someone else exactly where they are? Or do they just say, about 400 yards past this point? With visibility so low in the muddy water, I think they’ve been installing guidelines leading back to the cave entrance wherever they’ve been searching, like Theseus with his thread. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/31 "2018-07-03T16:07:18Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > BBC News was reporting that it may be too risky to bring them out using scuba equipment as the boys have no prior experience. It may indeed be more prudent to wait until the water goes down. They’re soccer players, of course they have diving experience. Reserve me a good spot in hell please guys. In all seriousness, SCUBA itself is actually something kids do- first time I went I was 11, same as the youngest of these kids, in the sea off Jersey (not New Jersey, the original one). Cave diving is a whole 'nother beast though. I’m not finding much about how dangerous this particular stretch of cave is- how long would the dive be, how good is the passageway. Is it just a huge system, and that was why they took so long to find them, or is it actually a difficult part of the system? If it’s all fairly open, the underwater stretch isn’t too long and they can have a diver accompany or even hold each kid, they could probably do it pretty safely. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/32 "2018-07-03T17:19:31Z")
I’m a bit surprised none of the 12 boys can swim. Totally different culture from the US. Most kids here routinely learn to swim at a young age. It certainly makes a rescue more challenging. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/33 "2018-07-03T17:23:28Z")
Filbert: here are some brief comments: > **[Thailand cave: 'Zero risks' to be taken in rescue of boys](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44692813)** > > The boys and their coach receive food and medical treatment as rescuers weigh up safe options only. Note on the map: Some parts too narrow to wear scuba tanks. 30 m dive Full climbing gear needed ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/34 "2018-07-03T22:22:03Z")
I’ve been reading about the search, and am deeply suprised that they were found alive. I suppose it wouldn’t be feasible to rig up something like [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Rescue_Enclosure) to evacuate them. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/35 "2018-07-03T22:39:21Z")
Why the hell were they there in the first place?? Anywhere where you could potentially get stranded for weeks isn’t somewhere that a fucking soccer coach had any business taking a bunch of kids with no survival training, in a foreign country. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/36 "2018-07-03T22:47:39Z")
It’s not a foreign country: These are Thais living in Thailand–probably living a few miles from this cave their entire life. As to how it can happen most of us have been caught out in weather when it suddenly turns bad without adequate preparation one time or another. Darren: as to that Personal Rescue Device–there is a point in the cave too narrow for Scuba tanks to be worn (see post #33) so it would probably rule out those devices too. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/37 "2018-07-03T23:51:17Z")
In addition to the daunting task of teaching these kids cave diving skills they need to be able to outfit them for appropriate thermal protection. Even warm tropical rainwater is cold enough to make a child hypothermic rather quickly. Doing a tank remove-and-replace to transit a narrow spot in the cave system while simultaneously shivering is not something I would want to put a scuba student through. Teaching kids basic safe diving technique to go down to the apparent 30 meter depth needed can be done in a couple days. But getting the kids out and ensuring they are comfortable doffing and donning their gear to effect the transit of narrow spots will be a much harder task. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/38 "2018-07-03T23:53:31Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s not a foreign country: These are Thais living in Thailand–probably living a few miles from this cave their entire life. As to how it can happen most of us have been caught out in weather when it suddenly turns bad without adequate preparation one time or another. OK, fair point; I had mistakenly assumed from all the talk about the British rescuers, that the kids and coach were British. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/39 "2018-07-04T00:45:14Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > OK, fair point; I had mistakenly assumed from all the talk about the British rescuers, that the kids and coach were British. Nope the [British rescuers](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/03/the-guardian-view-on-the-thai-cave-rescue-saluting-the-volunteers?CMP=share_btn_fb) are unpaid volunteers who are willing to put themselves in peril for the sake of others without asking if it’s their own fault they got into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173/40 "2018-07-04T01:17:46Z")
No one’s saying they shouldn’t be rescued or that the kids are at fault. But as to the coach who took a dozen kids a mile into a cave known for flooding, without regard for supplies or weather, and without telling anyone where they were going? We’ll have to wait for more facts to come in, but I can certainly see why his judgment would be questioned and how he might face legal consequences of some kind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-soccer-team-found-alive-in-cave/817173.md?page=3)