They had held out on a ledge for two days – now five people have been rescued by boat from a flooded cave in Slovenia. Because of the rising water level, they could no longer reach the exit.
In Slovenia, emergency services rescued five people from a flooded cave. The three tourists and two cave guides stayed in the famous Cross Cave (Krizna Jama) for two days.
Only when the water level fell did it become possible to rescue those trapped by boat. Everyone is doing well and no one needs medical treatment, said civil protection operations manager Sandi Curk, according to Slovenian media.
Persevered on a ledge
The group began their tour by boat through the underground lake landscape of Krizna Jama on Saturday morning. Afterwards, the water level rose so much that the cave exit could no longer be reached, even by boat. The emergency became known because the hikers had not returned at the scheduled time of early Saturday afternoon.
Those trapped waited for rescue workers in a heated tent on a ledge ten meters above the water level. The dry place, 2.4 kilometers from the exit, is specially prepared for such emergencies. The water temperature in the cave was reported to be six degrees Celsius, and visibility underwater was low. Professional disaster relief divers visited the trapped people twice before they were rescued and provided them with food, medicine and warm clothing.
Eight kilometer long cave system
Slovenia is known for its more than 14,000 caves. The Cross Cave, about 30 kilometers as the crow flies south of the capital Ljubljana, is the fourth largest known underground ecosystem in the world. The eight-kilometer-long cave system with a series of emerald-colored underground lakes is only accessible by boats and rafts and accompanied by cave guides.