Tourists trapped in Arizona’s Grand Canyon Caverns

At least five people have been cornered by a malfunctioning elevator two hundred feet underground at the Grand Canyon Caverns in Arizona. The group of tourists has been trapped for more than twenty-four hours. The time that will take experts to fix the malfunctioning elevator is still unknown.  The group was staying in a motel suite located at the bottom of the tourist attraction, which sits about sixty-five miles northeast of Kingman that costs a thousand dollars per night for two people.

 “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. 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. There are approximately twenty-one flights of stairs leading to the bottom with platforms and ladders. However, some of the people trapped do not have the physical capabilities to climb the stairs.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.

The Grand Canyon Caverns is a major tourist attraction that allows visitors to tour inside an ancient underground cave, dine and stay in a motel. They are among the largest dry caverns in the United States. They are said to have been created by natural forces sixty-five million years ago.

 One woman was able to climb the twenty stories of steps with her five-month-old and two-year-old daughters. The group left behind was reportedly given food and water. At least two are in their seventies and were unable to walk up the twenty stories of stairs.

 “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,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.