No turning back now
Impending monsoon forces cave rescuers to swing into action
ONCE the decision was made, there was no turning back.
Early talk that it could take months to extricate the boys from the cave was in the end just that – talk. The boys didn’t like the idea and their parents certainly didn’t.
And nor did the rescue mission leaders, knowing if they didn’t move fast the boys could be left to drown as the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand prepares to fill with fast-running water, as it does at this time every year.
The choice between leaving matters to chance and taking action was made.
Early yesterday, it was clear that something was afoot as ambulances began making their way to the staging ground outside the entrance of the cave, and anyone who was not an essential part of the rescue mission ordered to clear out.
By 10am, Narongsak Osotthanakorn, the departing governor of the Chiang Rai district who is running the mission, had the news the world has been waiting for: the extraction was under way.
Narongsak is more than a figurehead: he holds masters degrees in engineering and geography.
Though he is supposed to have left this district to take up a new post, he has been perfectly placed to pull together the multiple local and international agencies that have explored various strategies to get the 12 boys and their soccer coach safely out.
He would have preferred to pull the boys up through a shaft, rather than swimming them out. But yesterday he said no such viable passage had been found. The boys had to swim.
Billionaire engineer, explorer and futuristic visionary Elon Musk is one of many who has offered ideas.
He had been in contact with Narangsok suggesting an inflatable, flexible tube be deployed, with twin oxygen tanks at either end so the boys could be swum out in the capsules, one by one.
But such a contraption would need to be built from scratch – and time, as Narongsak made clear yesterday, was running out.
“The new monsoon coming,” he said.
A team of 18 Thai and foreign divers entered the cave around 10am, with the blessings of a watching world. Musk tweeted: “Extremely talented dive team. Makes sense given monsoon. Godspeed.” is
Narongsak knew the 12 boys and their coach – who have shown resilience and fortitude throughout their ordeal – would readily agree to whatever they proposed.
They are desperate to get out. But more importantly, he needed the families to give their consent.
They know the extraction mission, would could take two to three days, is far from risk-free.
The plan is to swim them out two at a time, each accompanied by two divers.
All told, the swimming and walking journey to high ground is expected to take around nine hours.