Navy Seals race launch cave rescue.
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Elon Musk didn't appreciate that Vern Unsworth wasn't thrilled with Elon Musk.
Sent from my G8441 using TapatalkComment
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Having read some of the tweets (written by twats) I now know why I stay well clear of Twitter. There was one blaming the incompetent British divers for the death of the Thai diver. Others saying how fantastic Elon Musk is and it was only the fragile egos of the attention seeking British divers that stopped Musk's brilliant solution being adopted. They wouldn't stop their dangerous approach to discuss with Musk the far better and safer solution that he had extract the kids using a rigid six foot long metal tube!
And Elon Musk openly accused Vern Unsworth of being a paedophile. I hope Vern sues him for a lot of money though however much he got it would be an insignificant amount to Musk.
How can people be so ignorant and vindictive after what the dive team achieved?Comment
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100% agree with the above, I’m a fan of Elon Musk’s mental ideas but he has acted like an arse throughout this situation. He would have come out of this with his reputation enhanced if he had just accepted the Thai thanks but no thanks statement with dignity. Releasing emails and suggestions a diver living in Thailand does so for nefarious reasons just shows a fragile ego and reminds me of a certain buffoon who allegedly is making America great again.Comment
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Have we seen this from the Australian contingent? Richard Harris and Craig Challen on Facebook.
I am sitting in the back of an RAAF C17 on the way back to Australia with Craig and the amazing Australian team members from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Federal Police and Australian Defence Force. I feel like it is the first opportunity to really stop and reflect on the extraordinary events of the past 8 days since Craig and I were deployed as a small AUSMAT team to the rescue in Chang Rai in Northern Thailand.
By the time we arrived on site, local divers like Ben Reymenants and the awesome foursome from Britain (John Volanthen, Rick Stanton, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell) had already been doing the most extraordinary dives through the cave and laying the very robust rope which made all subsequent dives to the soccer team not only possible, but safe. The efforts and skill of these guys in blazing this trail cannot be underestimated. Following someone else’s line is very much easier than finding your own way. Rick and John not only found the children and coach alive, but conveyed the gravity of the situation to the rest of the world and thus the rescue started in earnest. The 4 Brits then did further supply dives to the soccer players, the coach and the four Thai Navy Seals which allowed them to prepare and sustain themselves for the rescue ultimately.
Meanwhile on the ground, the Thais and international community sent in swarms of men and women to provide everything from catering, communications, media and of course the huge teams of workers filling the cave with tonnes and tonnes of equipment to try and lower the water and sustain the diving operations. I have never seen anything like it with man battling to control the natural forces of the monsoon waters. Local climbing and rope access workers rigged the dry cave section for that part of the rescue and scoured the bush for more entrances to the cave. Drilling teams attempted to get through nearly a km of rock to the boy’s location. And all this time 4 brave Navy Seals sat with the Wild Boars knowing they were in as much danger as the kids.
When it seemed all other options were exhausted, the decision to swim the players out was made and the rescue went ahead. As the kids came out, the 4 British rescue divers were supported by Craig and I, three other very talented young CDG divers from the UK (Connor, Josh and Jim) and the ͞Euro divers͟ (Erik, Ivan, our good mate Claus and Nikko). The pressure that was put on these guys was immense and they never dropped the ball for a second.
When the kids and coach were delivered to chamber 3, the US pararescue teams, AFP SRG divers, Aussie CD, Chinese divers and Thai Navy and Military medics assessed the kids, then whisked them out of the cave to a field hospital before moving them to the massive hospital in Chang Rai centre. We were lucky to visit the boys, coach and Seals and all the beautiful medical and nursing staff in the hospital on our way home.
I wanted to write this to try and give credit to all the people who were in some way involved. Craig and I have had a spotlight on our efforts and we want to make everyone realise that while we might have become the face of this rescue for some reason, everyone should know that the role we played was no more or less important than all the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people I have mentioned. The part we played has been made out to be a lot more noble than it actually was, we just consider ourselves lucky to have had some skills that we could contribute to the wonderful outcome.
Special thanks to the NCCTRC and AUSMAT, DFAT, Australian Embassy Staff in Thailand, the Thai Tourist Police (our protectors!), local liaison, the local cavers. Our heartfelt condolences to the family of ex Navy Seal Saman Gunan who died during the rescue efforts.
At home we must thank our families for dealing with the media and the worry we caused them (they are used to the latter I fear). To MedSTAR and the SA Ambulance Service for the significant assistance and support especially from Drs James Doube and Andrew Pearce. To the team at Specialist Anaesthetic Services for the same. To the Cave Divers Association of
Australia for handling the flurry of interest in our sport…the management team there has
been amazing especially our best mate John Dalla-Zuanna. To the worldwide community of cavers and divers who have handled themselves with grace and dignity and tried to throw some facts the media’s way occasionally! Finally to the thousands of well-wishers from
Thailand and around the world; we promise we have read every message!
Kittanu, Michael, Cameron, Andrew, Glenn, Jo and Grace… sorry to give you so much grief! Legends every one of you. To our new band of brothers; the Aussie, US , UK and
Euro/Canadian divers - lifelong friendships and respect.
Harry and CraigComment
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Have we seen this from the Australian contingent? Richard Harris and Craig Challen on Facebook.
I am sitting in the back of an RAAF C17 on the way back to Australia with Craig and the amazing Australian team members from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Federal Police and Australian Defence Force. I feel like it is the first opportunity to really stop and reflect on the extraordinary events of the past 8 days since Craig and I were deployed as a small AUSMAT team to the rescue in Chang Rai in Northern Thailand.
By the time we arrived on site, local divers like Ben Reymenants and the awesome foursome from Britain (John Volanthen, Rick Stanton, Jason Mallinson and Chris Jewell) had already been doing the most extraordinary dives through the cave and laying the very robust rope which made all subsequent dives to the soccer team not only possible, but safe. The efforts and skill of these guys in blazing this trail cannot be underestimated. Following someone else’s line is very much easier than finding your own way. Rick and John not only found the children and coach alive, but conveyed the gravity of the situation to the rest of the world and thus the rescue started in earnest. The 4 Brits then did further supply dives to the soccer players, the coach and the four Thai Navy Seals which allowed them to prepare and sustain themselves for the rescue ultimately.
Meanwhile on the ground, the Thais and international community sent in swarms of men and women to provide everything from catering, communications, media and of course the huge teams of workers filling the cave with tonnes and tonnes of equipment to try and lower the water and sustain the diving operations. I have never seen anything like it with man battling to control the natural forces of the monsoon waters. Local climbing and rope access workers rigged the dry cave section for that part of the rescue and scoured the bush for more entrances to the cave. Drilling teams attempted to get through nearly a km of rock to the boy’s location. And all this time 4 brave Navy Seals sat with the Wild Boars knowing they were in as much danger as the kids.
When it seemed all other options were exhausted, the decision to swim the players out was made and the rescue went ahead. As the kids came out, the 4 British rescue divers were supported by Craig and I, three other very talented young CDG divers from the UK (Connor, Josh and Jim) and the ͞Euro divers͟ (Erik, Ivan, our good mate Claus and Nikko). The pressure that was put on these guys was immense and they never dropped the ball for a second.
When the kids and coach were delivered to chamber 3, the US pararescue teams, AFP SRG divers, Aussie CD, Chinese divers and Thai Navy and Military medics assessed the kids, then whisked them out of the cave to a field hospital before moving them to the massive hospital in Chang Rai centre. We were lucky to visit the boys, coach and Seals and all the beautiful medical and nursing staff in the hospital on our way home.
I wanted to write this to try and give credit to all the people who were in some way involved. Craig and I have had a spotlight on our efforts and we want to make everyone realise that while we might have become the face of this rescue for some reason, everyone should know that the role we played was no more or less important than all the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people I have mentioned. The part we played has been made out to be a lot more noble than it actually was, we just consider ourselves lucky to have had some skills that we could contribute to the wonderful outcome.
Special thanks to the NCCTRC and AUSMAT, DFAT, Australian Embassy Staff in Thailand, the Thai Tourist Police (our protectors!), local liaison, the local cavers. Our heartfelt condolences to the family of ex Navy Seal Saman Gunan who died during the rescue efforts.
At home we must thank our families for dealing with the media and the worry we caused them (they are used to the latter I fear). To MedSTAR and the SA Ambulance Service for the significant assistance and support especially from Drs James Doube and Andrew Pearce. To the team at Specialist Anaesthetic Services for the same. To the Cave Divers Association of
Australia for handling the flurry of interest in our sport…the management team there has
been amazing especially our best mate John Dalla-Zuanna. To the worldwide community of cavers and divers who have handled themselves with grace and dignity and tried to throw some facts the media’s way occasionally! Finally to the thousands of well-wishers from
Thailand and around the world; we promise we have read every message!
Kittanu, Michael, Cameron, Andrew, Glenn, Jo and Grace… sorry to give you so much grief! Legends every one of you. To our new band of brothers; the Aussie, US , UK and
Euro/Canadian divers - lifelong friendships and respect.
Harry and Craig
Bloody BritsComment
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I'm ambivalent towards Musk. Loved his booster rockets landing in unison. No boy of Thunderbirds vintage could fail to be in awe.
So to his foray into this other darkness. I've only seen a synopsis of his twitterings on here and I get the impression it's his tweets that he's being hammered for. As with Trumpton, maybe he should have a man to do that for him.
My understanding of the rescue is that the boys were individually wrapped up in and constrained by a stretcher cum sled and were then hauled bodily through the flooded constructions.
Was Musk's one boy sub really that far of the mark? Conceptually if not practically?
If I was Musk I'd go play with my rocket until the heat dies down.Comment
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I'm ambivalent towards Musk. Loved his booster rockets landing in unison. No boy of Thunderbirds vintage could fail to be in awe.
So to his foray into this other darkness. I've only seen a synopsis of his twitterings on here and I get the impression it's his tweets that he's being hammered for. As with Trumpton, maybe he should have a man to do that for him.
My understanding of the rescue is that the boys were individually wrapped up in and constrained by a stretcher cum sled and were then hauled bodily through the flooded constructions.
Was Musk's one boy sub really that far of the mark? Conceptually if not practically?
If I was Musk I'd go play with my rocket until the heat dies down.
If it needs crowdfunding, give me a link for donations.Comment
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I'm ambivalent towards Musk. Loved his booster rockets landing in unison. No boy of Thunderbirds vintage could fail to be in awe.
So to his foray into this other darkness. I've only seen a synopsis of his twitterings on here and I get the impression it's his tweets that he's being hammered for. As with Trumpton, maybe he should have a man to do that for him.
My understanding of the rescue is that the boys were individually wrapped up in and constrained by a stretcher cum sled and were then hauled bodily through the flooded constructions.
Was Musk's one boy sub really that far of the mark? Conceptually if not practically?
If I was Musk I'd go play with my rocket until the heat dies down.The views expressed are my own, worth what you've paid for them, are not on behalf of anyone else and not those of any company I worked for etc.Comment
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As always with these things, it's hard to get full details but it sounds like these stretcher/sled things are more bendy and flexible than the submarine, not to mention smaller. There's also a small matter of the submarine not being really tested in mucky water. Given the risks involved, I suppose the team when with the simplest and most flexible solution (no pun intended) so it something went wrong, it could be swapped out/fixed on the fly.👍 1Comment
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Its hit the media here and abroad
I hope he does sue.
Given that it was reported there was a very narrow section that could not be passed with tanks attached I cannot see how a rigid "tube" would get through.A fully paid up member of the CRAFT Club
I failed to dive in Antartica
I used to have a handle on life but it brokeComment
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44846945
Its hit the media here and abroad
I hope he does sue.
Given that it was reported there was a very narrow section that could not be passed with tanks attached I cannot see how a rigid "tube" would get through.The views expressed are my own, worth what you've paid for them, are not on behalf of anyone else and not those of any company I worked for etc.Comment
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