> Clearly, the alternative is to use a stretcher. edit: To be clear, I'm talking about what's the alternative if the stretcher doesn't work? That was a major

> Clearly, the alternative is to use a stretcher. edit: To be clear, I'm talking about what's the alternative if the stretcher doesn't work? That was a major risk. If I were in there position, I'd strongly consider a stretcher too. But I'd feel much better knowing there was a backup plan. > I have no doubt this is the method of choice for more good reasons than I can possibly think of. Indeed it is. But all those rescues were performed above the water, in breathable air. Adding water to that mix is a huge change. Heck, I know someone who was involved in a rescue from a very wet cave with a significant river flowing through it that was flooding. They said one of the hardest parts of the rescue was keeping the victim in a stretcher out of the water so they wouldn't drown. Yes, the sub was untested and nobody had any experience with it. But rescuing untrained victims with a mask was also untested and nobody had any experience doing it. I'm sure that uncertainty is why Musk was asked by Richard Stanton - one of the two divers who found the kids in the first place - to keep working on it. Incidentally, by caving standards all dive gear is a "fancy contraption" - dive gear is notoriously fragile by caving standards.