Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company is testing a "kid-sized submarine" that could be sent to help boys trapped in a flooded Thailand cave.
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, went missing with their 25-year-old coach after soccer practice on June 23, setting out on an adventure to explore the cave complex near the border with Myanmar and celebrate a boy's birthday. They became trapped when rain flooded the caves and were only discovered after nine days below ground.
Rescue efforts have been complicated by the monsoon season rains and the fact that the boys can't swim, making the already treacherous dive out of the cave even more dangerous.
On Sunday, Musk posted videos on Twitter of the aluminum sub being tested in a California swimming pool. If the tests are successful, the sub will be placed on a 17-hour flight to Thailand.
Four of the boys were rescued on Sunday and another boy was rescued Monday. Authorities are now working to replenish air tanks along the cave's treacherous exit route. They say 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.
Thai authorities said Monday that rescue efforts delayed by heavy rain had resumed.
They said the four boys already rescued are hungry, but in good health in a hospital.
The second operation started at 11 a.m. local time Monday.
Officials said at a news conference that the parents of the rescued boys, whose names have not been released, have not yet been allowed to have physical contact with them, pending more extensive examination of their physical condition.
Search and rescue teams taking part in the efforts to save the missing team have also been relying on advanced communications systems donated by Israeli company MaxTech Networks.
