I was so glad to learn about it. This was such an unlikely rescue mission and amazingly heroic effort from everyone involved.
If I was religious I'd say this was a miracle. Just very happy every one is ok.
First, the first time I fasted I was quited stressed about it, and it was in controlled, cozy environment.
Second, they didn't know if anybody would come. Not even if somebody could come. For 9 days without eating and living in their own shit in the dark, they wondered.
I'm awaiting for the unavoidable book/movie, hoping they don't try to make it epic and get into real details about this.
He shared what little rations they had, and his condition was visibly worse than the children by the time they were found.
He also helped them by teaching them meditation, so as not to focus on their hunger.
Learning meditation is hard. Learning meditation when you are scared, hungry and in such a bad situation is extra hard.
So if the guy pulled it off with 12 terrorized famished kids for 9 days, he deserves his own temple.
Unfortunately it's why we are able to wage war. Was watching a documentary on the Vietnam war the other day and one guy was describing how he felt like an automaton that was focusing only on survival, which kept him from going insane, while another guy was describing how he felt no pain from his bullet injuries while trying to stay alive alone in the jungle for 3 days, only feeling pain after he was rescued.
But yeah, this coach is a hero for sure, I'm so glad they made it out.
Watched that episode with the South Vietnam veteran recalling that episode where he was left for dead (literally, by his own allies AND adversaries), crawled through the jungle for 3 days and only then felt the pain and smelled the nasty odor of the rotting flesh.
The coach probably didn't even take a wrong decision based on the information available at the time (it isn't rain season yet).
If you plan to enter deep into a huge cave, you check the weather forecast. Rainy season or not. And you don't enter if you see a chance of rain.
He failed on this one, and a man is dead because of it.
Now I'm don't think he should be blamed for it. It would be very unproductive.
But we certainly should make it a cautionary tale.
Hollywood producers are already on the ground http://www.newsweek.com/hollywood-producers-head-thai-cave-r...
Elon Musk is ahead of you - he has his government villain already: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1016684366083190785/phot...
I would actually pay to see this.
Sat in the dark, with no night and day, the bodies internal clock gets shot to pieces. They would have had no idea whether they had been there 3 days or 30
Not to mention the cold.
There's a hero-story about the coach that's yet to be told I reckon.
You can go a few weeks without food. The cave is likely at a consistent enough temperature that you're not going to freeze to death (sweating is more likely to be your real issue), so the only real constraint is potable water.
It's also been commented that the children had no idea they were trapped for as long as 9 days. Quite likely, without any source of natural light, they lost track of time, which certainly would help ease some of the panic.
Water of course is a different story..I believe after 48 hours severe dehydration sets in...after 3 days...kaput.
It's not a physiological problem. It's a psychological one. When you ate everyday all your life, not eating is scary.
> I believe after 48 hours severe dehydration sets in...after 3 days...kaput.
You can live more than 3 days without water. Either with training, of because the conditions help (you don't move much, temperature and humidity are favorable, you don't eat, etc).
There are cases were human lived for 9 days without water.
But they had water near them so that was out of the equation.