Why did the Thai youth soccer team survive 9 days in a dark cave?

Twelve Thai youth soccer players and their coach were found alive on the night of July 2 after being trapped inside Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province for nine days, although they did not bring much food with them.

The Royal Thai Navy SEALs released video today taken inside the cave showing the soccer team in perfect health.The question is how were the boys, aged only 11 to 16, able to survive for more than a week in the deep cave and what kept them mentally stable?

According to Mike Tipton, a physiologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, the ability to survive in extreme conditions depends on access to key life resources, in order: oxygen, stable environmental temperature, water and food.

The divers said the temperature in the cave hovered around 26 degrees Celsius, so the children were not at risk of hypothermia. Tim White, regional coordinator for the US National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), said that if the children were trapped in a cave in the US, where temperatures sometimes dropped below 15 degrees Celsius, many of them would be in danger of hypothermia.

In addition, according to a doctor participating in the rescue operation, the young soccer team avoided dehydration by drinking water dripping from stalactites in the cave.

Despite being surrounded by floodwaters, the boys cannot drink the water as it is susceptible to contamination from the surrounding farms. If they do, they run the risk of poisoning, digestive disorders, and exhaustion.

Lack of food is not a serious problem in the short term. According to experts, a normal person can go hungry for more than 30 days, even if the body has no strength. To avoid losing energy, young players need to limit their movement as much as possible.

An equally important factor that helped the team to survive in the cramped space, with absolutely no light and rushing floodwaters all around, was team spirit and good discipline.

When trapped in a deep cave for days, not knowing when he would be rescued,Keeping young players mentally stable is crucial, as just one panicked person can create a chain reaction, leading to unwise decisions, such as recklessly jumping into rushing water.

Some professional divers, when faced with similar situations, have considered suicide.If conditions in the cave are good enough for the team to survive, they need to stay positive, calm and focused, Professor Tipton from the University of Portsmouth stressed.

According to Omar Reygadas, a miner who was trapped underground for 69 days in Chile in 2010, the soccer team's coach may have been the one who calmed the children down and motivated them to be optimistic.

A good leader can turn a difficult situation into “an adventure rather than a difficult challenge,” Tipton assesses.

Video filmed by British rescue divers during their first approach to the trapped team shows the boys calmly greeting rescuers, showing no signs of panic or fear, even though this was the first time they had seen light after many days trapped.

The team members sat in orderly rows on the mound, not jostling each other when rescuers came. They could also communicate fluently in English with foreigners, proving that the team had been well-trained and educated, had team spirit and good discipline.

Experts hope that with the support of medical staff, psychologists and regular contact with relatives through the communication line into the cave, the members of the youth soccer team will soon recover their health and be mentally prepared for the journey to escape through the flood as soon as possible.