The Pyrenees have been particularly affected by the bad weather of recent days …
A group of seven Spanish cavers are stuck in a sinkhole in Herran (Haute-Garonne),close to the Pyrenees affected by bad weather in recent days, said the gendarmes. They were blocked by the rising waters, said the same source, as rescuers were dispatched to the scene.
“Living and exhausted”
Originally 15 in the group of cavers, eight were able to go out and raise the alarm at about four in the morning at the Gendarmerie in Luchon. There was no contact with the seven others on Wednesday shortly before eight o’clock. They were eventually found safe and healthy, 300 meters deep, we have learned from the gendarmes.
Arbas, Herran: Contact établi avec les 7 #spéléologues, ils sont sains & saufs, pas de blessés, opération de remontée en cours @PrefetLRMP
— Préfet LRMP (@PrefetLRMP) February 10, 2016
“The connection was made, they are still underground 300 meters but they are alive and exhausted,” added the same source.
The snow has complicated relief supplies
The seven missing cavers were expected at the exit of the pit on Tuesday evening at around 8pm, but had not reappeared, causing the onset of worry in the night.
There was no contact with them on Wednesday shortly before eight o’clock, and there was no any exchange during the night between the disappeared and those who have come out of the abyss, added the Gendarmerie of the mountain Platoon (PGHM) from Luchon. Firefighters were dispatched on site and Luchon PGHM team, aided specialized caving rescue group PGHM of Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), the source said.
The snow fell on site which could complicate emergency access. The group is blocked in the Mile pit, in the town of Herran, south of Saint-Gaudens, popular with cavers, said a specialist of the mountain.
