Spanish potholers trapped in French cave found alive

Seven Spanish potholers who were trapped in a cave in southwestern France have been found and are unhurt but remain underground, French police said Wednesday.

“Contact has been made. They are still 300 metres underground but they are alive and exhausted,” a police source said.   

The seven had been trapped in an underground chasm in the foothills of the French Pyreness after rising flood waters blocked their exit.

Eight of an original group of 15 managed to escape and raise the alarm in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said.   

The chasm is in Herran in the heart of the Pyrenees region in southwestern France close to the Spanish border.

Haute-Garonne : sept spéléologues bloqués dans un grouffre > https://t.co/fgP9Wa007l pic.twitter.com/yumc473jgd

— RTL France (@RTLFrance) February 10, 2016