Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

France Works to Free Trapped Spelunkers

Aired May 19, 2001 - 09:09   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Rescue workers in France used small targeted explosives today to help free eight explorers trapped in a flooded cave for four days now. Explorers, spelunkers, amateur explorers who have been trapped in the cave on the French-Swiss border since Wednesday, they were located yesterday.

CNN Paris bureau chief Peter Humi on the line with the latest on that. Peter, how goes the rescue effort now?

PETER HUMI, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Miles, there seems to be some more positive news now. As you mentioned, this drama now entering almost its fourth day. As you also mentioned, the small explosive charges that were used, they could have done the trick, according to officials down there on the French-Swiss border. They say the water levels inside this cave system are now beginning to lower at a fairly fast rate.

And they're optimistic that the eight people that have been trapped in the cave since Wednesday early evening local time, seven students and one teacher, all of them Swiss, will be out before sundown today, Saturday.

So they hope within a matter of possibly four hours or so from now, though they're not guaranteeing that. They were hoping that they would have been out by about this time yesterday. The problem being, though, is that the water levels inside the cave, which have trapped the eight inside a -- inside one of the caves, just didn't want -- weren't going down quickly enough, hence the delay.

In terms of the state of health of the eight that have been in the caves now for almost four days, they're said to be in pretty good physical condition. They've been obviously in very miserable surroundings there since getting stuck by the water on Wednesday evening. But they have received warm food and water. They had blankets. There's always a doctor with them, and several rescue workers, so it's really just a matter of biding their time, and, as I said, officials do hope they will be out now in just a matter of hours -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Peter, you imply that they're in fairly close proximity, that is, the rescuers are fairly close to the spelunkers, they just can't get them out?

HUMI: Well, in fact, the rescuers have been with the pot-holers, the spelunkers, as you say, since they were discovered more or less on Friday morning, local time. It's just a matter of getting the water levels low enough down for them to exit from the cave that they're actually in into a series of other caves to get them out through the entrance.

Actually it's a little (UNINTELLIGIBLE), they're blocked off in this one particular cave, which is about 100 yards or so from the exit. But between them and the 100 yards to the way out, there's still water that's too high, and obviously the rescue services don't want to have the eight that have been in there having to swim underwater to get out. So they -- it's just a matter, really, of getting those water levels down so that they can be escorted out.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Peter Humi, watching things for us from his perch in Paris. Thanks very much for being with us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com