Three Belgian explorers who became lost in a difficult cave complex in northern Spain were freed from the underground maze by specialised rescue teams on Friday.
The three speleologists were exploring the Rubicera-Mortero de Astrana cave complex, in the rocky Spanish region of Cantabria, when they became disoriented in the underground complex.
Local authorities launched a rescue operation when they realised that the Belgians, aged between 30 and 40-years-old, were over 12 hours behind schedule, according to Spanish media.
A team of specialised cave explorers with the civil protection services ventured into the underground caves to find the missing Belgians, who were found "disoriented" in the middle of the maze.
In a separate incident this week, Spanish authorities came to the rescue of two Belgian hikers who became stuck in their ascent of the Picos de Europa mountain range, also in the north of the country.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
