Rescue begins for five trapped deep inside flooded Slovenian cave

Rescuers take part in a rescue operation to reach five people trapped in the cave after heavy rainfall, in Bloska Polica, Slovenia, January 7, 2024. Cave Rescue Service of Slovenia /Handout via REUTERS

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Divers entered a flooded 8.2-km Slovenian cave on Monday to try to evacuate five people who have been trapped deep inside since Saturday as water levels begin to recede, the head of the rescue mission said on Monday.

"The first section of the cave is passable for now," said Maks Merela, the head of Slovenia´s Cave Search and Rescue Unit. "The divers are getting inside and we hope they will come out with evacuees in the course of the day, by evening at the latest," Merela told Reuters on telephone.