The Hindu : British experts on way to rescue trapped cave divers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

International

International

British experts on way to rescue trapped cave divers

Members of a British cave diving team make their way through the Alpazat cave in Cuetzalan del Progreso, central Mexico, on Monday. — AP

CUETZALAN DEL PROGRESO (MEXICO), MARCH 25. Two rescuers from London were en route to central Mexico to rescue five British military cave divers and their civilian guide trapped underground by floodwaters for eight days, Britain's acting ambassador to Mexico, Vijay Rangarajan, said.

The two specialists will work in conjunction with the Mexican military, navigating through 100 metres of flooded tunnels in order to reach a dry area where the trapped explorers are holed up, Mr. Rangarajan said.

As of Wednesday night, those expert divers were still en route to Cuetzalan, a mountain town near the cavern entrance in Puebla State, 180 km northeast of Mexico City.

The cave divers' three-day underground tour stretched into a second week after rising water blocked the entrance to the Alpazat caverns.

Stocked with provisions to last until the weekend and equipped with rock-penetrating radios, the explorers had turned down help from Mexican rescuers, saying they will wait while the pair of trained British rescuers arrive here from London.

The cave diving expedition featured members of Britain's Combined Services — which encompasses the army, navy and air force. Puebla authorities released the names of five trapped military officials and their British guide on Wednesday, but officials in London refused to verify the lists. No hometowns were given.

As a safety precaution, half of the cave diving team was above ground when heavy rains first triggered floods blocking the cave's entrance on March 17.

The expedition leader, Stephen Whitlock — one of six team members not trapped in the cave — said he is still hopeful flood waters will recede enough for the stranded divers to make their way above ground unassisted.

Even though intermittent rain has kept water inside the cave from draining away, he said the divers may not extract those trapped.

Instead, they merely may bring them more supplies so that they can try to wait out the water for a few more days, he said.

Whitlock would not say if any of those trapped in the cave had diving experience.

Red Cross officials were preparing to offer first aid assistance outside the cave's mouth on Wednesday night.

But the trapped expedition was reported to be in good health and passing the time by playing cards and bathing in an underground river.

The trapped cavers have touched off a diplomatic spat between Mexico and Britain.

The Mexican President, Vicente Fox, ordered a letter sent to London and demanded to know if the cave divers were engaged in a military training exercises.

``I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Relations to take immediate action and file a note of protest,'' the President said.

The Interior Secretary, Santiago Creel, said the crux of the issue was that the Britons had entered on tourist visas and may have been doing more than simply exploring Puebla's caves. ``We have asked the British Government for more precise information about the excursion,'' Mr. Creel said.

``Information that will let us know if their activities were related to exploration or to another kind of activity, something scientific or something else.''

Mr. Rangarajan said Mexico's concerns that the cavers were doing anything other than exploring was ``pure fantasy.'' ``I think we just need to talk to the Mexican Government and find out what their problems are,'' he said.

A spokesman for Mexico's National Migration Institute said scientific or exploration teams require special visas, and that laws would prohibit training exercises by foreign military forces on Mexican soil.

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