Thailand Cave Rescue
The worlds most expert cave divers are racing against the onset of heavy monsoon rains to rescue the boys football team trapped nearly a kilometer underground in a Cave in Thailand.When the boys were first discovered alive trapped for 10 days on a muddy island nearly 4 kilometers into the cave system I was asked to write a piece for the Daily Telegraph in which I explained just a little bit about caving and the expertise that has been involved in this mission.
Since the article was published on how the British Cavers found the trapped Thai Boys it has been a nailbiting week.
As a climber I know from both sides of technical rescue scenarios how difficult and dangerous even seemingly simple rescues can be. They are fraught with complications, changes in the weather, unmovable obstructions and the physical difficulty of removing people with little technical, let alone no technical experience in that field.
What is utterly remarkable in this instance is that what appeared to be just a faint glimmer of hope, the kind of idea that an expert would seriously hesitate in putting forward is in the process of being executed and with great success.
The bravery to attempt something like this, both as rescuer and also the boys being rescued is truly remarkable. It shows more than almost any other example I can think of the unbelievable power of positive thought, and a positive, proactive approach. To go diving after full certification in less than visible water for me is terrifying enough. The thought of combining this with a claustrophobic squeeze in a cavern only 38cm high, where you would literally have to lie your head to one side and wriggle and push your body through the hole underwater with an oxygen mask on your face, in zero visibility is almost incomprehensible. What a brave team this is!
Since the article was published on how the British Cavers found the trapped Thai Boys it has been a nailbiting week.
As a climber I know from both sides of technical rescue scenarios how difficult and dangerous even seemingly simple rescues can be. They are fraught with complications, changes in the weather, unmovable obstructions and the physical difficulty of removing people with little technical, let alone no technical experience in that field.
What is utterly remarkable in this instance is that what appeared to be just a faint glimmer of hope, the kind of idea that an expert would seriously hesitate in putting forward is in the process of being executed and with great success.
The bravery to attempt something like this, both as rescuer and also the boys being rescued is truly remarkable. It shows more than almost any other example I can think of the unbelievable power of positive thought, and a positive, proactive approach. To go diving after full certification in less than visible water for me is terrifying enough. The thought of combining this with a claustrophobic squeeze in a cavern only 38cm high, where you would literally have to lie your head to one side and wriggle and push your body through the hole underwater with an oxygen mask on your face, in zero visibility is almost incomprehensible. What a brave team this is!
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