Rescuers to partially drain cave and use ropes, oxygen tanks and masks to help free boys

Plan A for rescuers trying to free the 12 Thai boys trapped in a flooded cave is to drain enough water to allow them to be pulled out through nearly a mile of tunnels, large portions of which will still be underwater.

Mermaid Subsea Services in Bangkok, a company that usually provides equipment for undersea oil and gas extraction efforts, has been in talks with Thai authorities to supply masks for any attempt to extract the children through the cave system.

The company is sourcing AGA Divator masks – full face scuba models – that are specially fitted for children.

The boys will be dressed in wetsuits, boots and helmets, and divers will use an 8mm static rope that is already in place to guide them through the cave system, said Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, a coordinator of the Thai contingent of the international cave diving team that located the boys on Monday night.

Thai cave rescue: boys 'learning to dive' as authorities race against time to free them Read more

It is unlikely the boys will carry their own 12-litre oxygen tanks – they are more likely to be provided with oxygen from a navy diver’s supply. In addition to this, filled “stage tanks” are also in place every 25 to 50 metres along the route, allowing the boys quick access to oxygen if their stocks run low.

Another crucial element, which is less technical, will be the use of Thai-speaking divers with whom the boys have formed some bond. “They need the comfort, they need to speak to someone in their mother tongue, someone who can keep them calm,” said Torsten Torsten Lechler, a diver who works for Mermaid Subsea Services.