English Typing Paragraph
▲
This story seems like it's on its way to a happy ending: The youth soccer team and its coach in Thailand that had gone missing in the Tham Luang caves
for more than a week have been found. The team had been on an outing, exploring the cave, when heavy rains hit and flooded the subterranean space. But
on Monday (July 2), rescue teams located the soccer players and their coach huddled in an air pocket in the cave, according to the BBC. Now, all the rescuers
need to do is get everyone out - a process that could take months because of the flooded conditions, the BBC reported. But the group has already been
stuck for ten days, so how long can humans survive trapped in a cave? It depends on the type and location of the cave. But generally, running out of oxygen
is not an issue, said Andrea Rinaldi, a biochemist at the University of Cagliari in Italy who, in part, researches how humans adapt and physically perform
in cave environments. "Oxygen is usually abundant (in caves), even hundreds of meters below ground," Rinaldi told Live Science in an email. "It flows
through cracks in the rocks, and through porous limestone." (The 7 Longest Caves in the World) That said, in rare cases, there can be pockets in caves
where carbon dioxide can build up, making the air unbreathable, said Rinaldi, who is also a recreational caver, or spelunker. But these types of pockets
are very different from the one that the team was found-in, he said. That pocket, Rinaldi said, is likely large, so there would be enough oxygen to sustain
for more than a week have been found. The team had been on an outing, exploring the cave, when heavy rains hit and flooded the subterranean space. But
on Monday (July 2), rescue teams located the soccer players and their coach huddled in an air pocket in the cave, according to the BBC. Now, all the rescuers
need to do is get everyone out - a process that could take months because of the flooded conditions, the BBC reported. But the group has already been
stuck for ten days, so how long can humans survive trapped in a cave? It depends on the type and location of the cave. But generally, running out of oxygen
is not an issue, said Andrea Rinaldi, a biochemist at the University of Cagliari in Italy who, in part, researches how humans adapt and physically perform
in cave environments. "Oxygen is usually abundant (in caves), even hundreds of meters below ground," Rinaldi told Live Science in an email. "It flows
through cracks in the rocks, and through porous limestone." (The 7 Longest Caves in the World) That said, in rare cases, there can be pockets in caves
where carbon dioxide can build up, making the air unbreathable, said Rinaldi, who is also a recreational caver, or spelunker. But these types of pockets
are very different from the one that the team was found-in, he said. That pocket, Rinaldi said, is likely large, so there would be enough oxygen to sustain
Note: Use Down arrow,Enter,page-down to move to Next Chunk, Use page up to Move to Previous Chunk ▼
Chunk Number: 1