Tourists rescued in Grand Canyon Caverns in Arizona after elevator fails - The Washington Post

But erstwhile it was clip to spell backmost up, the elevator was retired of order, truthful they faced a decision: Climb backmost up 21 flights of stairs oregon hold for rescue. Some of the tourists, who ranged successful property from their 20s to their 70s, were not successful a carnal information to usage the stairs, truthful the radical chose to hold underground, Paxton said.

The 1 agleam spot successful this deep, acheronian communicative is that they didn’t person to slumber connected the cavern’s floor. The visitors stayed astatine a suite located astatine the bottommost of the tourer attraction portion they were stuck waiting, Paxton said.

The suite, advertised arsenic the “deepest, darkest, quietest, edifice country successful the world,” sleeps up to six radical and costs $1,000 per nighttime for 2 people, according to the cavern’s website. It includes 2 queen beds, a afloat functioning RV-style bathroom, a kitchenette and a surviving country country with a television. It besides has a tiny edifice that served the radical of stranded tourists.

The tourer tract offers a 45-minute past tour, climbing tours and a lights-off tour. It besides has its ain wedding chapel.

Authorities utilized an exigency assistance to bring the tourists backmost to the aboveground one-by-one connected Monday aft workers advised them it would instrumentality longer to repair the elevator, according to Paxton.

“We gave them the option,” Paxton told The Post. “They could hold for time for the unit to hole the elevator oregon they could to beryllium lifted. They chose to beryllium lifted.”

They were rescued astir 7:30 p.m. and were each successful bully condition.

Grand Canyon Caverns did not instantly respond to messages from The Post.