What is that saying about life and art again?

Elon Musk has sent engineers from his SpaceX and Boring Company teams to assist with the rescue efforts of the boys' soccer team stuck in a cave system in Thailand.

Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been trapped in the cave system since June 23, when a Monsoon turned what was meant to be a short hike into a crisis that has gripped the world.

SpaceX & Boring Co engineers headed to Thailand tomorrow to see if we can be helpful to govt. There are probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2018

Engineers and rescue teams from around the world have reportedly poured into Thailand to assist the Thai government. Time is of the essence since more flooding rains are expected over the weekend, and oxygen in the caves may be running low. But the extremely narrow, flooded sections of the cave have already proved treacherous and even deadly for rescuers.

Now, Musk has offered to lend his expertise in drilling holes, and general engineering smarts and resources, to the effort.

Boring Co has advanced ground penetrating radar & is pretty good at digging holes. Don’t know if pump rate is limited by electric power or pumps are too smal. If so, could dropship fully charged Powerpacks and pumps. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2018

Musk first floated plans for how he would help rescue the team on Twitter in response to a plea for help from Twitter user @MabzMagz. He initially deferred to the Thai government, but nonetheless offered to help.

I suspect that the Thai govt has this under control, but I’m happy to help if there is a way to do so — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 4, 2018

Then he posited several ideas including offering Boring Co. resources for "ground penetrating radar" and by providing fully charged Powerpacks and pumps. Musk engaged in a back and forth with the founder of a Thai engineering company about various strategies including an inflatable tube. The Thai engineer wrote that he had helped connect Musk's companies with the Thai government. Then, Musk confirmed that his team was on the way.

Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m diameter nylon tube (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle. Should create an air tunnel underwater against cave roof & auto-conform to odd shapes like the 70cm hole. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2018

It's hard not to draw comparisons between our real-world eccentric inventor polymath Musk, and the fictitious character Tony Stark/Iron Man. With Musk springing into action to literally help trapped children on the other side of the world, the Marvel Universe and the real world seem to be merging.

But it's also good to know that when the lives of children are in danger, our own universe is capable of deploying super-human efforts. Good luck, to Musk and all the other rescuers on the scene.