April 28 (UPI) — A rescue effort is underway Sunday to extract five people trapped in a Virginia cave.
The first hiker was rescued from Cyclops Cave near the town of Cleveland, Va., just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jeff Stern, the state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management wrote on Twitter.
The rescue operations began at around noon on Sunday, after crews from Blacksburg, Va., and North Carolina arrived at the scene.
Crews will send a basket into the cave to hoist the next individual back to the surface.
Officials said it could take between 10 and 12 hours to rescue all of the people from the cave.
Billy Chrimes, search-and-rescue coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management told ABC News said it didn’t appear the men are too far into the cave.
Chrimes added that the group did not bring enough food and water to last a sustained period of time, but rescuers have provided them water since their arrival.
Sheriff’s Office Major Bill Watson said at least two of the cavers will have to be treated for hypothermia after having been trapped in the cave since around 7 p.m. on Friday.
Jess Powers, coordinator for Russell County Emergency Management, said a group of six initially planned to spend the weekend inside the cave until it began to rain on late Saturday night, causing the ground to become slippery and making it difficult for them to get out.
One person managed to escape and ask authorities for help just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, but the others were unable to get out of the cave until the rescue operations began on Sunday.
