Ljubljana [Slovenia], January 9: Rescuers successfully freed five people from a cave in Slovenia on Monday, two days after the group went missing.
Two guides and three tourists entered the cave, named Križna Jama (or "Cross Cave"), in southern Slovenia on Saturday morning, after a period of heavy rain, and failed to return later that day.
A third guide went to search for them but could not find the missing group, and the Slovenian Cave Rescue Service (CRS) was activated to recover them.
The European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) said in a post on Facebook on Monday that they had successfully been evacuated, praising those involved in an "excellent operation." The water cave is one of Slovenia's most well-known tourist destinations, with visitors able to take a boat ride to explore inside.
The ECRA sent divers into the cave on Sunday and successfully made contact with the group, but were unable to evacuate them because high water levels had blocked the two safe passages, the service said in a statement on Monday.
The successful rescue operation unfolded at the Krizna Jama cave when six highly experienced divers were able to extract the stranded party from the cave at about 3:05 p.m. local time, Sandi Curk, commander of the Regional Civil Protection Headquarters for the Notranjska Region, told ABC News.
All five people, including two parents and their adult child, emerged from the cave in good shape and without the need for medical treatment, Curk said.
Rescue efforts had been underway since Saturday morning when the three family members, all from Slovenia, and their two guides went missing during a tour of the cave's myriad lakes, officials said. The group became marooned when torrential rains caused water levels to rise in the cave, cutting off exit routes, officials said.
Curk said heavy rain in the area caused the cave's lakes to rise, stranding the tour group about 1 1/2 miles from the entrance to the cave.
The group were about 1.3 miles from the cave entrance, and were in good physical and mental condition, the ECRA said.
"The morning brings positive information; the water level in Križna Jama has decreased overnight," the agency said on Monday morning, before the operation retrieved the group.
Rescuers waited until the water level receded to extract the group, according to Curk.
On Saturday evening, rescue divers located the group and moved them to a safe area where they could set up heated tents, officials said.
The ECRA added that decreased water levels meant rescuers could navigate a boat around the cave area, "which is very promising for the rescue of trapped individuals."
Source: Qatar Tribune