Spanish spelunkers rescued after 22 hours trapped in flooded French cave

HERRAN , France, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Seven Spanish cave explorers were rescued from a flooded cave about 1,000 feet deep in France's Pyrenees Mountain region after an overnight search.

They were part of a group of 15 which split into two groups after they entered caves Tuesday near the town of Herran in France's Haute-Garrone region near the border with Spain. While one group of eight left the caves early Wednesday, the other explorers, six men and one woman, were trapped for 22 hours by rising flood waters blocking their exit.

The mountainous area, popular with hikers and cave explorers, was hit by storms, rain and snow in the past several days, causing flooding.

The rescued party, each member between 30 and 50 in age, was "safe but tired," Frederic Rose, Haute-Garrone prefect's chief of staff, said after they were freed by local firefighters and police skilled in underground interventions.