From the perspective of those boys and their coach, the relief of being found may co-exist with the knowledge that they remain stuck and that their future remains uncertain. It’s hard to know for certain what they do and do not know about their chances of rescue in the short term, and how they may adapt to trying to deal with the possibility that rising floods waters may be a threat to their ability to survive their ordeal, or that they may remain trapped for weeks or months while people figure out the best plan or action.

We also know that the physical circumstances in which the boys and their coach are trapped also have the potential to cause harm. The lack of daylight over this period of time means that they may not only be psychologically disoriented, but that many of their basic physiological functions that depend upon circadian rhythms will be disturbed, such as sleep, hormonal functioning, core temperature, their feeding and drinking, and also how their gastrointestinal systems might be functioning.