Elon Musk's Team Designs Escape Pod For Thai Soccer Team Trapped In Cave
PALO ALTO (KPIX/AP) - Tech billionaire Elon Musk is sending help to rescue a soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand.
He tweet Saturday that his design team is nearing completion of a small escape pod for the 12 boys and their coach.
The said the pod 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."
A team of engineers from Space-X and The Boring Company are on their way to Thailand.
The Thai government says they may also provide support with location tracking, water pumping or battery power.
On Saturday, a Thai army commander says the ongoing rescue could take 2-4 days depending on conditions inside the partially flooded cave.
According to Maj. Gen. Chalongchai Chaiyakam, the 13 "will continuously come out in approximately 2-4 days, which all may change depending on weather and water conditions."
The governor in charge of the operation says two divers will accompany each boy as they are gradually extracted. The operation began at 10 a.m. and he said it would take at least 11 hours for the first person to be rescued.
The Thai officials did not say if Musk's escape pods were part of the immediate plan.
