ELON MUSK SENDS ENGINEERS FROM HIS BORING COMPANY TO HELP THAI CAVE RESCUE MISSION - AND PROPOSES CREATING UNDERWATER AIR TUBE FOR THE CHILDREN TO CRAWL THROUGH
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has dispatched his top engineers to help rescue 12 schoolboys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave. On Twitter, Musk suggested using an underwater air tube could be created for the children to crawl through. The 47-year-old said his Boring Co, which digs tunnels for advanced transport systems, could feed a nylon tube into the submerged sections of the cave before inflating it 'like a bouncy castle' to create an underwater tunnel.
Musk said engineers from his Boring Co and SpaceX companies needed to be on site to oversee the evacuation. The schoolboys are trapped 2.600 ft (800 m) underground, the equivalent of two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of one another. A spokesman for The Boring Company told the BBC: 'We are speaking with the Thai government to see how we can help, and we are sending SpaceX/Boring Company people from the US to Thailand today to offer support on the ground.
'Once we confirm what exactly will be helpful to send or do, we will. We are getting feedback and guidance from the people on the ground in Chiang Rai to determine the best way for us to assist their efforts.'
This is not the first time Musk has been approached to assist in a disaster zone.
The Puerto Rico government called on the 47-year-old billionaire for help last year, after a devastating hurricane hit the Caribbean island. As well as providing expert advice to help rebuild the island’s infrastructure, electric automaker Tesla sent high-capacity battery packs to help keep the lights on in local homes and businesses.
When asked for his input on the ongoing rescue efforts in Thailand, Elon Musk initially suggested using an 'advanced ground penetrating radar' to help rescuers. Tesla could supply 'fully charged Powerpacks and pumps' to help remove water from the cave network, Musk added.
The SpaceX found then tweeted with the idea of inserting an inflatable nylon tube into the cave system to create an underwater tunnel. Battery packs and air pumps would be used to inflate the nylon tubes, submerged underwater.
These tubes would provide an escape tunnel the children could crawl through to safety, Musk suggests. Speaking to MailOnline about the escape idea proposed by the Tesla co-founder, Professor of Geology at the University of Aberdeen, John Howell said ‘if anyone could do it would probably be [Musk]’.
‘It’s a clever idea and, in theory, there is no reason as to why it wouldn’t work,’ said Dr Howell. ‘It is limestone so the rock is going to be very sharp and irregular,’
However, the academic warned that feeding a nylon tube through a limestone cave network could lead to tears in the fabric – instantly flooding the escape tunnel. ‘It will also need to be used by several people at once, increasing the risk of a tear. One rip and it’s going to fill up with water instantly.’
The other problem with the plan is transporting the nylon tube through to the trapped schoolchildren in the first place.
‘Professional divers have struggled to get through to the boys as it is, one of them died earlier today,’ Dr Howell added. ‘Imagine this but also trying to drag a one-kilometre long tube behind you.’ In conclusion, Dr Howell said: ‘the practicalities make me think it is not possible.’
This is opposed to a second proposed method where engineers would drill down to access the tunnels. However, drilling expert Kelvin Brown, who was part of the team that rescued 33 Chilean miners in 2010, said there are lots of variables and risks when drilling into the cave system. He said detailed maps were available for the Chilean mines, which helped the team determine how the rigs were going to behave.
Information about the layout of the Thai caves remains scarce. As a result, Mr Brown said drilling into unknown areas could result in the trapped boys being hit by falling boulders.
Peter Styles, Professor of Applied and Environmental Geophysics at Keele University, added: 'It may be worth trying to see whether there is access into the cave where they are from the surface or whether it is feasible to make one if there isn't a natural access.
'If it is already partly connected it would be feasible but tricky. To drill a shaft big enough to get folks through in virgin rock is difficult but not impossible, as the other alternative may be to wait for the waters to fall which, as they have said, may be months.'
None of the 12 boys can swim or dive, which rescuers said will be essential in freeing them. Experts are concerned about the affect the conditions facing the youngsters may be having on their well being.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has dispatched his top engineers to help rescue 12 schoolboys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave. On Twitter, Musk suggested using an underwater air tube could be created for the children to crawl through. The 47-year-old said his Boring Co, which digs tunnels for advanced transport systems, could feed a nylon tube into the submerged sections of the cave before inflating it 'like a bouncy castle' to create an underwater tunnel.
Musk said engineers from his Boring Co and SpaceX companies needed to be on site to oversee the evacuation. The schoolboys are trapped 2.600 ft (800 m) underground, the equivalent of two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of one another. A spokesman for The Boring Company told the BBC: 'We are speaking with the Thai government to see how we can help, and we are sending SpaceX/Boring Company people from the US to Thailand today to offer support on the ground.
'Once we confirm what exactly will be helpful to send or do, we will. We are getting feedback and guidance from the people on the ground in Chiang Rai to determine the best way for us to assist their efforts.'
This is not the first time Musk has been approached to assist in a disaster zone.
The Puerto Rico government called on the 47-year-old billionaire for help last year, after a devastating hurricane hit the Caribbean island. As well as providing expert advice to help rebuild the island’s infrastructure, electric automaker Tesla sent high-capacity battery packs to help keep the lights on in local homes and businesses.
When asked for his input on the ongoing rescue efforts in Thailand, Elon Musk initially suggested using an 'advanced ground penetrating radar' to help rescuers. Tesla could supply 'fully charged Powerpacks and pumps' to help remove water from the cave network, Musk added.
The SpaceX found then tweeted with the idea of inserting an inflatable nylon tube into the cave system to create an underwater tunnel. Battery packs and air pumps would be used to inflate the nylon tubes, submerged underwater.
These tubes would provide an escape tunnel the children could crawl through to safety, Musk suggests. Speaking to MailOnline about the escape idea proposed by the Tesla co-founder, Professor of Geology at the University of Aberdeen, John Howell said ‘if anyone could do it would probably be [Musk]’.
‘It’s a clever idea and, in theory, there is no reason as to why it wouldn’t work,’ said Dr Howell. ‘It is limestone so the rock is going to be very sharp and irregular,’
However, the academic warned that feeding a nylon tube through a limestone cave network could lead to tears in the fabric – instantly flooding the escape tunnel. ‘It will also need to be used by several people at once, increasing the risk of a tear. One rip and it’s going to fill up with water instantly.’
The other problem with the plan is transporting the nylon tube through to the trapped schoolchildren in the first place.
‘Professional divers have struggled to get through to the boys as it is, one of them died earlier today,’ Dr Howell added. ‘Imagine this but also trying to drag a one-kilometre long tube behind you.’ In conclusion, Dr Howell said: ‘the practicalities make me think it is not possible.’
This is opposed to a second proposed method where engineers would drill down to access the tunnels. However, drilling expert Kelvin Brown, who was part of the team that rescued 33 Chilean miners in 2010, said there are lots of variables and risks when drilling into the cave system. He said detailed maps were available for the Chilean mines, which helped the team determine how the rigs were going to behave.
Information about the layout of the Thai caves remains scarce. As a result, Mr Brown said drilling into unknown areas could result in the trapped boys being hit by falling boulders.
Peter Styles, Professor of Applied and Environmental Geophysics at Keele University, added: 'It may be worth trying to see whether there is access into the cave where they are from the surface or whether it is feasible to make one if there isn't a natural access.
'If it is already partly connected it would be feasible but tricky. To drill a shaft big enough to get folks through in virgin rock is difficult but not impossible, as the other alternative may be to wait for the waters to fall which, as they have said, may be months.'
None of the 12 boys can swim or dive, which rescuers said will be essential in freeing them. Experts are concerned about the affect the conditions facing the youngsters may be having on their well being.
