Tourists Rescued After Being Stranded 200 Feet Underground in Grand Canyon Caverns

Six tourists were rescued Monday evening after they were stranded 200 feet underground in the Grand Canyon Caverns resort in Peach Springs, Arizona, according to officials.

The tourists were hoping to return to the surface Sunday evening but were unable to after the site’s only elevator malfunctioned. The tourists had the option to either climb up 21 flights of stairs or wait until the elevator was fixed.

Some of the tourists elected to stay as they were not in physical condition to ascend the stairs, according to Coconino County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jon Paxton via the Washington Post.

The trapped tourists included a family of four with two small children and another couple. The husband of the second couple did initially climb the stairs to the surface but went back down to stay with his wife, said Seligman Fire Chief Gary Bennett via CNN.

Fortunately, the stranded tourists were not too uncomfortable as the Grand Canyon Caverns is a resort with a motel suite and restaurant inside.

The resort’s website advertises the rooms as the “deepest, darkest, quietest, hotel room in the world,” costing $1,000 per night for two people and an extra $100 for each additional person.

After approximately 24 hours of being underground, the tourists were brought back to the surface one by one at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday through an emergency lift since fixing the main elevator would take a prolonged period of time. They were noted to be in good condition.

It was initially thought that the elevator was broken due to an electrical problem, which prompted a generator to be brought in. However, the issue was later determined to be a mechanical problem, Paxton noted.

According to the resort’s website, the caverns were formed within the limestone that was once at the bottom of an ancient sea that separated the continent 65 million years ago. It is the largest and driest cavern in the country.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.