Ilon Musk on Saturday
told that he, together with the SpaceX team of engineers, is working on the creation of a miniature "submarine". Mask and his colleagues believe that this vehicle will help rescue a team of teenagers from a flooded cave in Thailand who fell into the trap along with their instructor.
The submarine exists not only in the head Mask. In fact, the project is quite real, and the development team has almost completed the creation of a rescue vehicle. Actually, it can be called a submarine, but one should not imagine the submarine contour familiar to us from films and photos.
In the middle of this week, Musk
said that one of the best ways to save teenagers could be an air-filled tunnel with nylon walls. On Friday, the entrepreneur changed his mind. Moreover, he stated that, together with a team of engineers, he was working on the creation of a “two-layer Kevlar“ bag ”covered with teflon for sliding on rock”.
Mask said that only 8 hours are left before the work is completed, and then the construction created by the SpaceX team will fly to Thailand together with the company's specialists.
So far, the Thai authorities have not responded to the proposal Mask, but it really can be a way out. The fact is that a significant part of the cave and its exits are flooded. In some places, the manhole diameter is about 70 cm. Getting under the water to the location of teenagers is very difficult, even for a professional diver.
Teenagers and their mentor, who are now closed by the elements in the cave, had previously planned to bring to the surface with the equipment of a scuba diver. Unwitting prisoners were taught the basics of diving, so that after a few days they began to get out of the cave.
The problem is that in the near future in Thailand is expected heavy rain, which can lead to the fact that the cave, where young cavers are now hiding, can be completely flooded. The situation is worsened by the fact that some members of the team of teenagers do not even know how to swim, which further complicates the task of saving them. And it is already impossible to wait, because people are not only threatened by water. The level of oxygen gradually decreases, which can lead to oxygen starvation and weakening of adolescents.
As for the "submarine" proposed by Mask, it reduces the risk, and quite strongly. Kevlar bag will be transported by professional divers, while adolescents at this time will just need to lie inside and do nothing, just wait. Yes, it will be scary. Closed space, obscure direction of movement, the fear that the "bag" may break. Musk says that he understands all this, but the underwater transportation of the victims of the elements in such a “bag” is the best thing that can be done in the current situation.
In any case, it is much safer than diving in muddy water the color of coffee with milk, where nothing is visible a centimeter from the face. A person who is unfamiliar with the experience of underwater travel, can just panic in the scuba, and then just nothing can be done. And the Mask offer leaves the guys with a completely unrealistic hope of a speedy rescue.
In addition to the "submarine", Musk still does not abandon the idea of creating an inflatable nylon tube. From it you can make a tunnel through which adolescents under the water will get out on the "mainland".
Professional divers say that the alternative way to rescue - the operational training of adolescents in diving and out using scuba gear is not very reliable. Probability of that. That someone will die is very high. So if there is an alternative way, which, moreover, is less dangerous than the others, they should use it.
Today it was reported that the headquarters of the operation to save children abandoned the plan of rescuing children with the help of scuba divers. As you know, during the operation killed the Royal Naval combat swimmer Saman Gunan. He voluntarily participated in the rescue operation. During the passage of the flooded cave, he lost consciousness and died. After that, it was decided that the plan to assign a professional partner-diver to the student who could bring his ward to the surface is too dangerous.
The group includes boys from 11 to 16 years old and a man of 25 years old - their football coach. They fell into a cave in the province of Chiang Mai in the north of the country. At that moment there was dry. But soon after they were inside, it began to rain, the entrance was not only flooded, but also filled with stones. When the rescuers found all the victims, they first decided that the children would have to be in the cave until September or October of this year - it was at this time that the rainy season was ending.
But, as mentioned above, the concentration of oxygen in the cave gradually decreases. In addition, heavy rain can, if not completely, then partially flood the cave where the victims are. We need to act very quickly - only a few days are left, not weeks or months.