Five people rescued after spending weekend trapped in Slovenian cave due to flooding

8 January 2024, 17:30 | Updated: 8 January 2024, 19:19

By Sukhmani Sethi

@SukhmaniSethi

Rescuers have successfully extracted five people trapped deep inside a flooded Slovenian cave for two days after enduring a weekend stranded in dark and freezing conditions.

A family of three adults and two tour guides found themselves stuck in the Krizna Jama cave in south-western Slovenia on Saturday following heavy rainfall, spending the weekend trapped with poor visibility and rising rainwater, as they awaited help from rescue services.

A team of six divers located the stranded group in a drier area of the cave, more than a mile inside the subterranean system, after the water levels dropped and provided access for rescuers.

No injuries were reported and none needed any medical attention, according to Doctor Zlatko Pogorilicc, who added: "I think we were lucky it all ended like this."

Igor Benko, head of the Speleological Association of Slovenia, confirmed that despite the ordeal over the weekend, those rescued are in good spirits.

Walter Zakrajsek, the head of the Cave Rescue Service, told the STA news agency that the group was only able to be rescued because the water, which had flooded the five-mile cave system, had finally receded.

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With the temperature of the water plummeting to just six degrees, rescuers brought a heated tent, food and clothes to the group over the weekend while they waited for the first opportunity to extract them.

Maks Merela, who leads the Cave Search and Rescue Unit, said the group were transported by boat using the labyrinth of underground lakes, and walked through others.

She told Reuters: "They are now in a warm place, everybody is okay, all of them are positive and the rescue mission was successfully competed."

Slovenia is a popular destination for those looking for those seeking a subterranean adventure known, with 14,000 caves to choose from.

Krizna Jama is the only naturally preserved cave in Slovenia, without any strong lighting or concrete pathways to conserve the cave's otherworldly atmousphere, with its emerald-coloured underground lakes which are only accessible by boats and rafts and with a guide.

The five-mile cave system is also the fourth-biggest known underground ecosystem in the world.