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One dead, four injured in Washington ice cave collapse

By Amy R. Connolly

SEATTLE, July 7 (UPI) -- One hiker was killed and at least four others were injured when an ice cave collapsed Monday after officials warned warm temperatures would melt the ice and weaken the caves.

More than 100 rescue workers tried to free all of those trapped under debris at the Big Four Ice Caves in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, located about 70 miles north of Seattle. One person, who was not identified, died. Four others, three adults and a child, were taken to area hospitals with injuries that include broken bones.

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"It's not illegal to go in the caves. However, we've been saying since mid-May, it's extremely dangerous with all this hot weather," sheriff's spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.

Ireton said they got the call about 5:38 p.m. Monday about the collapse but it happened about 45 minutes earlier. Reporting the incident was delayed because there is no cell-phone reception in the area and the caller had to drive a distance to report the incident.

The collapse happened at the entrance of the caves. Some in the cave reported hearing a loud cracking sound before the roof caved, raining ice chunks and snow on visitors.

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"As soon as it stopped I looked up and looked around me and it was extremely gruesome, honestly," said Chloe Jakubowski, 18, who escaped the cave uninjured.

All of Washington State has been seeing unusually warm temperatures, averaging some 15 degrees above normal. The U.S. Forest Service had issued a warning in May about the risk of a cave collapse.

"In the month of June, much of the state experienced temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees above normal," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Doll said. "The heatwave will ease later this week, but temperatures will remain above normal this weekend through the middle part of July.".

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