Looks like Elon Musk is taking a break from his current Twitter dispute over a farting unicorn picture in order to lend a hand in one of the riskiest rescue operations yet.

Authorities have been working hard to rescue 12 boys who are trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province.

TIME report that four of the boys were rescued from the cave on Sunday, July 8. Authorities are now working to replenish air tanks along the cave’s treacherous exit route.

That’s terrific, but it also means that rescuing the remaining eight boys and their soccer coach could take up to four days.

That’s where the Tesla CEO and his “kid-sized” submarine comes in:

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.

Musk posted videos on Twitter of the aluminium sub being tested at a swimming pool Sunday mid-afternoon California time. If the tests are successful, the sub would be placed on a 17-hour flight to Thailand …

A spokesman for Musk’s Boring Co. tunnelling 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.

Of course, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is: does Musk’s submarine work?

Take a look at the mini-sub in action in this compilation video:

Judging by the results, I guess the sub will be on its merry way to Thailand very, very soon to speed up rescue efforts.

No doubt that’s the good news that the remaining boys and their coach need right now.

Still, we’ll hold off the celebrations until they’re all safely out of that cave.

[source:time]