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Spanish rescuers battle to reach trapped cavers Spain cave rescue: Four Portuguese divers rescued after tunnels flood
(about 8 hours later)
Spanish rescuers are trying to reach four Portuguese cavers trapped by a sudden flood in a cave network in Cantabria, northern Spain. Four Portuguese cavers have been rescued after a sudden flood trapped them in a cave network in Cantabria, northern Spain.
The four, from a climbing club in Porto, went missing on Saturday in the Cueto-Coventosa caves near Arredondo.The four, from a climbing club in Porto, went missing on Saturday in the Cueto-Coventosa caves near Arredondo.
Rescuers got about 50m (yards) into one cave on Sunday, but the high water level made it too risky to carry on. Rescuers got about 50m (55 yards) into one cave on Sunday, but the high water level made it too risky to carry on.
A video posted on Facebook by Esocan, the local cave rescuers, shows a torrent of water rushing into the cave. The group emerged at around 19:00 local time (18:00 BST) and told local press that they were all in good health.
The rescuers are fixing ropes to the cave walls to help get past the water, Spain's Efe news agency reports. "I'm glad because in a moment I'll be able to call my parents," one of the cavers told Portugese news channel SIC Notícias.
The water is subsiding, but only at a rate of 10cm (four inches) per hour. A video posted on Facebook by Esocan, the local cave rescue group, showed a torrent of water rushing into the cave during the relief operation.
In July three cavers were rescued from the same cave network. Three others from the Portuguese club initially went looking for the group on Sunday, after their fellow cavers failed to communicate, but they were blocked by rising waters and called the emergency services.
Three others from the Portuguese club went looking for their four friends on Sunday, having received no message from them, but the water blocked them. At that point they called the Spanish emergency service on 112. The four missing Portuguese were all "very experienced cavers, aged about 30", club leader Vitor Gandra told Portugal's Lusa news agency. But they were caught out by rising water levels, Mr Gandra said.
The four missing Portuguese are all "very experienced cavers, aged about 30", the caving section leader at their club told Portugal's Lusa news agency. Three cavers were rescued from the same network in July.
But the rapidly rising water level caught them by surprise, Vitor Gandra said.