Space X testing tiny submarine to help boys trapped in Thailand cave

Elon Musk. Image: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

MAE SAI, Thailand – Elon Musk’s Space X rocket company is testing a “kid-sized submarine” that could be sent to help boys trapped in a flooded Thailand cave.

Musk posted videos on Twitter of the aluminum sub being tested Sunday at a swimming pool. If the tests come out successful, the sub would be placed on a 17-hour flight to Thailand.

Four of the boys were rescued Sunday, and authorities are now working to replenish air tanks along the cave’s treacherous exit route. They said rescuing the eight remaining boys and their soccer coach could take up to four days.

A spokesman for Musk’s Boring Co. tunneling unit, which has four engineers at the cave, has said Thai officials requested the device, which could potentially help the children through narrow, flooded cave passageways.

Authorities temporarily stopped rescue efforts on Monday to replenish air tanks along the cave’s perilous exit course.

Expert divers managed to get four of the 12 boys to safety on Sunday. They were quickly transported to a hospital in the town of Chiang Rai, the provincial capital.

The names of the rescued boys were not released.

Rescuers have been navigating a dangerous and complicated plan to get the children out under the threat of heavy rain and rising water underground.

The 12 boys and their coach had been trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non for more than two weeks now.   /kga