I have been following developments in this situation, as i am sure many of us have. There are rescues, there are challenging and difficult rescues, and then there are cave rescues, even the most routine of which are at a significantly more challenging level. Remember Floyd Collins??

The Thai situation dwarfs any kind of technical or cave rescue operation I have ever experienced or heard of, for that matter. The latest report is that one of the options is to teach the group scuba diving in order to get them out.

Well, there is scuba diving, and then there is cave diving, where you are dealing with restricted overhead conditions - no popping to the surface and breathing...

Years ago, I took an intro course in cave diving - two instructors and five students. Since then I know that at least two of the seven have perished while cave diving (one was an instructor), and this does not include the guy I felt was the most likely candidate - a gentleman who was bragging about the time he had spent in a decompression chamber...

It looks like they might spend four months in the cave, until the end of the rainy season, which alone poses significant complications.

Apparently the group passed warning signs notifying them of flooding dangers during the rainy season. Please do pay attention to warning signs and get a decent weather report when out and about. It is well worthwhile....

At least lessons will be learned from this incident which will be useful in future situations. It is gratifying to see the international response to this situation.