Tourists in US stranded underground after elevator malfunctions at Grand Canyon Caverns

Five people remain trapped underground at Arizona's Grand Canyon Caverns after an elevator, which took them 200 feet below the ground, malfunctioned, authorities said on Sunday. According to ABC News, the elevator broke down during the evening of Sunday, which resulted in tourists having to climb 21 flights of stairs to leave the place. However, five travellers were unable to do so due to physical constraints, according to a statement by the spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.

The spokesperson also revealed that while the malfunction was initially assumed to be due to some electrical issue, it was later found that the problem was caused mechanically. The authorities and staffers figured it out after a generator that was brought to the spot and attached to the elevator failed to resolve the problem. 

The group of five people, who have been trapped underground, were given food items and rooms to stay at a hotel located next to the caverns. While technicians were dispatched to the site, they did not arrive as of Monday evening, due to the long commute. According to the spokesperson, the sheriff’s office had dispatched search and rescue personnel to pull the stranded people up the shaft of the elevator with a harness. 

Sheriff's office releases a statement on the situation

“Yesterday five folks were exiting the caverns when the elevator stopped working. Believing it was an electrical problem, a generator was brought in. It’s not an electrical problem. It’s a mechanical problem,” spokesperson Jon Paxton said, according to CNN.

“The Cavern put the people up in a motel, and there is a small restaurant at the bottom, and the motel is working to make the people as comfortable as possible while they are down there,” he said, adding that “We have a search and rescue team standing by as well as a hoisting apparatus to lift people out if the repairs take longer than expected or if people are not comfortable staying down there."