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American Morning

Rescue Under Way for Cave Explorers in France

Aired May 18, 2001 - 09:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Also overseas this morning, a cave rescue effort under way along the Swiss-French border. Rescuers have reached eight cave explorers in Goumois, France, but at the last word, the group remains trapped in the flooded cave. We want to get the latest for you on the evacuation effort.

We're joined on the phone, live, by CNN's Paris bureau chief Peter Humi.

Peter, what can you tell us about the latest?

PETER HUMI, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Donna, that's right. In fact, the eight potholders, all of them students from Switzerland, have been found, several hours ago now, but their ordeal isn't quite over yet. It's going to take several more hours, in fact, for the rescuers to probably have to dig down about 40 yards or so to liberate the students who've been stuck in their subterranean captivity for almost 40 hours now.

Now, it was, in fact, a diver, one of almost 200 Swiss and French rescue workers, who found the eight cavers, three women and five men, all of them students, as I said, from Switzerland, all of them in their 20s, early Friday morning local time. The students are described as extremely tired, as you would expect. But they have been provided with some warm food and drinks and survival blankets, according to rescue officials.

Now, they've been cut off just 100 yards from the entrance to the cave by suddenly rising rainwaters. There's been exceptionally heavy rain in that region and this caused the usual levels of fairly low water to rise dramatically, cutting off the students. Now, rescuers at first tried to pump out the water, but that didn't work. So now they're going to have to dig down, as I mentioned.

Now, the students had entered the caves in the Dubra region (ph) between France and Switzerland last Wednesday evening. And it was some colleagues who hadn't gone down with them to raise the alarm, in the first place, after the eight students had failed to reemerge at a prearranged time.

But it looks as if they will get these kids out. Probably take them a few more hours. At latest estimates, probably at least another four to five hours before they are expected to emerge and they do seem as if they will survive what has been a fairly harry ordeal for them down there - Donna.

KELLEY: Peter, do you know if they have any injuries at all? And how exactly they're going to get them out?

HUMI: Well, as I said, I think they - in terms of getting them out, they're going to have to probably dig down to the caves through a lot of rock and fairly hard granite up there in the Alpine region between France and Switzerland. It's going to take a little while. They only have to dig down about 40 yards or so. I mean that's still a -- that's a fair length. I mean it's -- that seems to be the way that they're planning to do it. They're still pumping water out. They might be able to try and get them out through the main entrance.

No particular reports of injuries other than a certain amount of exhaustion, as you can imagine. The students are having to stand on a - on a fairly narrow ledge above the water levels. And, of course, you can imagine their thoughts there and over the past 36, 40 hours as the water levels appear to be rising. Fortunately for them, they didn't rise too far and they were able to survive. But then the cold and the damp, pretty rough conditions.

KELLEY: All right. Peter Humi, our Paris bureau chief, thanks very much.

We heard that they went in there to - they got in the cave to improve their ability to face challenges in their careers. This ought to help - Leon.

HARRIS: Well, the got what they asked for, huh?

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