Elon Musk Sends Engineers From His Boring Company To Help Thai Cave Rescue
Published
| Last updated
Multi-billionaire Elon Musk has sent a group of his top engineers to help rescue 12 schoolboys and their football coach who found themselves trapped in a flooded cave.
The tech entrepreneur has taken to Twitter suggesting an underwater air tube which could be created for the children to crawl through.
Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m diameter nylon tube (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle. Should create an air tunnel underwater against cave roof & auto-conform to odd shapes like the 70cm hole.
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2018
According to the MailOnline, Musk, 46, said his Boring Co, which digs tunnels for advanced transport systems, plan to insert a nylon tube into the cave before inflating it 'like a bouncy castle' to create an underwater tunnel.
He also told his followers: "I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but I'm happy to help if there is a way to do so."
Adding: "Boring Co has advanced ground penetrating radar & is pretty good at digging holes. Don't know if pump rate is limited by electric power or pumps are too smal. If so, could dropship fully charged Powerpacks and pumps."
And later said: "SpaceX & Boring Co engineers headed to Thailand tomorrow to see if we can be helpful to govt. There are probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person."
Loading…
The schoolboys have been trapped 800 metres underground for almost two weeks now and according to a doctor's report two of the boys and the coach are suffering with exhaustion through malnutrition.
The medical assessment means that it is too dangerous to try to move the youngsters, an unnamed source in the Thai Navy Seals told CNN.
The children are believed to have completed their first day of scuba diving training as they prepare to be rescued.
They will undergo a thorough medical examination to decide whether they are fit enough for the risky escape from the cave in in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, which is being pumped with oxygen.
There's no denying the rescue mission is a dangerous one, that was highlighted earlier today (July 6) when a former Navy Seal died after he ran out of oxygen 1.2 miles inside the underground system.
Saman Kunan had been working in a volunteer capacity and was returning to the centre after placing oxygen tanks through the cave's underground network.
Maintaining air supplies inside the cave has become the 'top priority' as rescuers face the prospect of the boys remaining underground throughout the monsoon season, which ends in October.
Oxygen in the chamber is now down to 15% according to The Guardian and normal oxygen levels are at around 21%.
