Tourists trapped 200 feet underground in Grand Canyon Caverns for more than 24 hours

Five tourists spent over 24 hours trapped underground after an elevator broke at the Grand Canyon Caverns, officials told news outlets.

The Grand Canyon Caverns are the largest dry caverns in the country, according to a tourism website. The park takes visitors on daily tours through the ancient Arizona caverns.

“Your guided tour begins with an elevator ride that takes you into the depths of the Cavern, 200 feet underground and 65 million years into the past,” the caverns’ website says.

On Sunday, Oct. 23, however, that elevator broke and trapped five visitors underground for hours, AZ Family reported. The group wasn’t rescued until Monday evening at about 7:30 p.m., according to the news outlet.

“Five folks were exiting the caverns when the elevator stopped working,” Jon Paxton, a spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN. “Believing it was an electrical problem, a generator was brought in. It’s not an electrical problem. It’s a mechanical problem.”

The group was forced to stay in the caverns overnight, staying in a suite at a small hotel and restaurant, according to AZ Family.

Two of the group members are in their 70s, according to KNXV, and were unable to make the trek up a staircase that leads out of the caverns.

The walk includes more than 20 stories of stairs and “is described as being tough to walk up and similar to a fire escape,” the news outlet reported. Other people who were in the caverns at the time walked the stairs to get out.

This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Tourists trapped 200 feet underground in Grand Canyon Caverns for more than 24 hours."