5 Tourists Rescued After Being Trapped Underground in Grand Canyon Caverns for More Than 24 Hours

The sightseers became trapped after an elevator malfunctioned at the tourist attraction in Arizona.

Five tourists have been rescued in Arizona after being trapped 200 feet underground for more than 24 hours at the Grand Canyon Caverns, officials said.

The group was stranded after an elevator malfunctioned at the popular tourist site on Sunday, authorities said. Others on the underground tour climbed 20 stories of stairs to reach the top, but some of the trapped sightseers were in their 70s and unable to make the arduous trek, employees said.

The Grand Canyon Caverns are the largest dry caverns in the country, according to the tourist website. Guides provide daily tours through the labyrinth of underground rooms dating back 65 million years.

The five people were rescued Monday night and all were in good health, officials said.

The group slept in a $1,000-a-night underground suite, complete with TV, two beds and a futon. "Experience the deepest, darkest, quietest hotel room in the world," the caverns' website says. "When the cavern becomes your room for the night."

Staff also brought in food, said a spokesman for the tourist site.

Some of those rescued were hoisted out by firefighters, while others were helped up the stairs, according to local reports.

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