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According to the Bangkok Post, a nine-member engineering team personally dispatched by billionaire Elon Musk has already arrived in the area. On Saturday, the Tesla CEO tweeted he had several alternative plans, but that he had agreed with his team of experts the best idea was building a small submarine "fitted for a kid". Mr Musk explained on Twitter: “Got more great feedback from Thailand. “Primary path is basically a tiny, kid-size submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of Falcon rocket as hull.

“Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely robust. “Fitted for a kid or small adult to minimise open air. “Segmented compartments to place rocks or dive weights and adjust buoyancy.” He added: “This should allow to access narrow passages and evacuate everyone in small groups.”

The Thailand cave rescue in pictures Wed, July 11, 2018 Thailand cave rescue: Pictures show the dramatic rescue operation of a trapped youth football team and their coach. Play slideshow EPA 1 of 45 All 12 of the trapped football team and their coach have been rescued from a cave in Thailand

When a user asked him if the submarine could feature an MP3 player to reduce stress, Mr Musk responded positively. The billionaire also further claimed that the submarine was already under construction and that it would be "complete in about eight hours, then 17 hour flight to Thailand". It is not clear whether the Thai government is willing to use Musk’s solution as opposed to the expertise of its divers. However, Anmar Mirza of the National Speleological Society’s National Cave Rescue Commission told Slate he was skeptical that the Tesla CEO's technology was the solution.

Regarding Mr Musk's alternative plan of providing pumps and batteries, Mr Mirza said: “With all due respect to Mr Musk, I am not sure that he or his engineers have a real good handle on exactly what they’re dealing with in this particular situation. “The teams working are already doing as much pumping as can feasibly be done in there. "They have enough pumping power.”

Elon Musk is building a tiny, kid-size submarine to help the Thai soccer team

The 12 boys and their football coach have been stuck in the cave since June 23

The development came as leaders of the rescue effort in Chiang Rai edged closer to a decision on whether it would be practical to bring the boys out over the next few days. Chiang Rai governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said conditions are "perfect" to stage an evacuation in the coming days before fresh rains and a possible rise in carbon dioxide further imperil the group.