Dramatic cave rescue operation carried out in Tenerife

dpa German Press Agency Published: Sunday February 11, 2007

Canary Islands- The Spanish police and fire service carried out a dramatic rescue operation Sunday for 29 day-trippers who got lost in the depths of a cave on the Canary Island of Tenerife. Six of the tourists were still missing Sunday morning, Spanish authorities reported.

Hopes were fading that the remaining tourists would be found alive in the cave near Los Silos in the north of the island.

The rescue teams were able to locate the missing tourists in the cave's tunnels, which are partly under water, but could not immediately get to them.

The rescuers could see that the six tourists were lying motionless on the ground almost 2 kilometres from the cave's entrance.

The trip to the cave had been organized by a research institute in the Canaries and a group of nature lovers.

The tourists were predominately Spanish, but there were also a few foreign scientists with them whose nationalities were not immediately known.

Fifteen of the group of 29 were able to get themselves out of the tunnel network, while eight others were rescued. They were suffering from breathing difficulties.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency