5 tourists trapped about 200 feet underground at Arizona's Grand Canyon Caverns - CNN

CNN  — 

Five radical person been trapped astir 200 feet underground astatine the Grand Canyon Caverns since Sunday successful Peach Springs, Arizona, officials said.

The radical became stranded astatine the tourer tract aft an elevator malfunctioned, according to Jon Paxton, a spokesperson for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.

“Yesterday 5 folks were exiting the caverns erstwhile 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,” Paxton told CNN.

Officials bash not cognize however agelong it volition instrumentality to hole the elevator, and the radical is staying successful a motel suite located astatine the bottommost of the the tourer attraction, which sits astir 65 miles northeast of Kingman, Paxton said.

“The Cavern enactment the radical up successful a motel, and determination is simply a tiny edifice astatine the bottom, and the motel is moving to marque the radical arsenic comfy arsenic imaginable portion they are down there.”

There are astir 21 flights of stairs starring to the bottommost with platforms and ladders, Paxton said. However, immoderate of the radical trapped bash not person the carnal capabilities to ascent the stairs.

“We person a hunt and rescue squad lasting by arsenic good arsenic a hoisting apparatus to assistance radical retired if the repairs instrumentality longer than expected oregon if radical are not comfy staying down there,” Paxton said.

CNN reached retired to The Grand Canyon Caverns for further details.

The Grand Canyon Caverns is simply a tourer attraction that allows visitors to circuit wrong an past underground cave, dine and enactment successful a motel, according to its website.