Frantic rescue mission is launched to save four divers who have been trapped underground in half-mile deep cave for 48 hours after getting lost
- The four explorers went missing in the Cueto-Coventosa caves on Saturday
- Cave rescuers have been hampered by heavy rainfall and high water levels
- Today the region’s interior minister said the four had been ‘located’ this morning
Four missing cave experts have been found in an underground warren in Spain and are now waiting to be rescued, authorities have said.
The four Portuguese explorers had not been heard from since they entered the Cueto-Coventosa caves for an expedition on Saturday.
Last night another four specialists launched a rescue mission but could barely make it 50 yards inside because of high water levels.
Today the region’s interior minister Paula Fernández said the missing cavers had been ‘located’ 48 hours after they went missing and rescuers are now waiting for the water level to drop so they can reach them, according to news agency EFE.
Search and rescue: Spanish emergency workers in red uniforms search the Cueto-Coventosa caves in northern Spain today after four Portuguese cave experts went missing
On the edge: Rescue services stand at the entrance to the cave in Spain today where the four explorers went missing on Saturday
Once it does, emergency workers may have to set up ropes and handrails in order to reach the cavers trapped inside.
The four people were ‘perfectly prepared, they knew the cavity and had studied it,’ the interior minister said.
They had gone missing in a four-mile underground labyrinth in Cantabria, northern Spain, with some caves as deep as half a mile.
‘Coventosa is very dangerous, with abundant rains that suddenly turn it into rivers. Hopefully everything goes well,’ said regional leader Miguel Angel Revilla.
Two rescuers had emerged at 10pm last night and were resting before facing the ‘whitewater’ which they might encounter in the caves, he said.
Emergency workers, one of whom is pictured near the cave on Monday morning, may have to set up ropes and handrails in order to reach the cavers trapped inside
Rescue workers with ropes and flashlights explore the cave today where specialists could barely make it 50 yards inside because of high water levels last night
An emergency vehicle is seen in Arredondo today where rescuers are trying to reach the missing cave experts who were ‘located’ this morning
Other rescuers were carrying underwater equipment, he wrote on Twitter this morning.
Pictures showed rescue workers in red uniforms clambering over rocks as they looked into the gloomy caves.
The rescuers had set up camp outside the cave entrance last night while they waited for water levels to drop, according to English-language publication Portugal News.
Reports said the rescue workers could set up ropes and handrails in the caves in order to make progress.
Heavy overnight rain had hampered their task and emergency workers believed the water could have blocked the missing cavers’ passage.
The four ‘speleologists’ or cave experts are said to be members of a Portuguese mountaineering club, according to Spanish media.