Five people were trapped in a passage in Krzna Cave in southwestern Slovenia on Saturday afternoon due to sudden heavy amounts of rain. There were two guides and three tourists in the cave, and they did not return on Saturday afternoon at the appointed time, so emergency services were alerted.
Divers were able to reach them on Saturday and Sunday. They were brought food, water, medicine and a warm tent, but they were not evacuated due to high water levels, as they were more than two kilometers away from the cave entrance.
The head of the rescue operation said that rescue divers finally headed to the depths of the 8.2-kilometre-long cave on Monday to try to rescue the five trapped people.
“The divers entered the cave and we hope they will come out during the day, at the latest in the evening, with the people trapped inside,” Max Mirela, head of the Slovenian cave search and rescue unit, told Reuters. To Reuters.
He also said that the five victims had been provided with dry tents, heaters and all necessary equipment and were “just waiting to get out.”
Five people have been trapped in a cave in Slovenia since Saturday afternoon after heavy rains caused water levels to rise, Slovenian authorities said.
Officials said the group could only be rescued after the water level in the Krzna Jama cave dropped.
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This is the first time this has happened
Mirela told Reuters that this is the first time people have been trapped in Krizna Cave. “It is possible that the current situation arose because of catastrophic floods in Slovenia last year, and the ground has not yet absorbed all the water.”
We also reported on the flood that occurred in Slovenia in the summer of 2023 – which caused six deaths – on the index.
(Cover photo: Rescuers take part in a rescue operation to reach five people trapped in a cave after heavy rains in Ploska Polica, Slovenia, January 7, 2024. Photo: Slovenian Cave Rescue Service/Reuters)
