A family member prays before a shrine in the Tham Luang cave area as rescue operations continue for the 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cavern.
Ye Aung Thu/Getty Images
Elon Musk says a kid-size submarine made from part of a SpaceX rocket might be the way to save the schoolboys trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.
The SpaceX and Boring Company CEO tweeted the thought Saturday, continuing his efforts to assist in a rescue. On Friday, Musk said workers with the rocket company and the tunnel-digging venture were on the way to Thailand to explore the possibility of using air pumps, an inflatable tunnel and ground-penetrating radar to save the children.
In his Saturday tweet, Musk, who's also head of Tesla Motors, said the submersible idea seems most promising at this point.
"Got more great feedback from Thailand," he wrote. "Primary path 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."
Twelve boys and their football team coach were visiting the Tham Luang cave system in Northern Thailand when they were stranded by floodwaters 10 days ago. More heavy rain is expected to flood the caves further, and sections of the passages out are too narrow to pass through wearing scuba tanks. Former navy diver Saman Gunan died after delivering oxygen to the children on Thursday, demonstrating how dangerous the escape from the caves would be.
Got more great feedback from Thailand. Primary path 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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2018
CNET's Rich Trenholm contributed to this report.
