Thai Cave Rescue Update: Mission Resumes Phase 3 After Eight Boys Pulled; Elon Musk Ready With Mini-sub

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, July 10, 2018

With time nearly running out, the perilous operation to rescue four boys and their coach is now underway to pull them out of a flooded cave in Thailand. Eight of the boys have been extracted so far, with four rescued on Sunday and four again pulled out on the next day, July 9.

The rescue workers have been taking out the strongest boys first, starting with the four of the fittest kids who were pulled out of the cave on Sunday in the first phase of the plan.

Between sets, the team then had to spend about 20 hours to prepare oxygen tanks for use inside the cave, as other members of the rescue team continue to frantically pump out water to keep the levels from rising any more than it already had.

Rescuers reason that it would be better to take out the boys that had the best chance of survival first, according to CBS News. Even the strongest of the group, however, had to be airlifted to the nearby hospital as soon as they emerged.

Elon Musk had earlier announced that he will be sending SpaceX and Boring Co. engineers to help with the dangerous mission, but it now appears that the CEO has gone to the site itself, judging from his latest posts on Twitter.

"Just returned from Cave 3. Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids' soccer team. Leaving here in case it may be useful in the future. Thailand is so beautiful," he posted, to go along with two photos of the rescue operations site as seen inside the flooded cave.

Officials estimate that medical evaluation of the boys could take as long as seven days, with doctors looking for signs of dehydration and lung infection.