And a babel free version of that article...
Six cavers trapped underground by rising waters since saturday
DESERVILLERS (AFP) ? Six cavers who went into the Biefs Boussets at Deservillers (Doubs) on Saturday were surprised by rising waters and remain trapped underground as of Tuesday, despite the efforts of a rescue operation which still hadn?t located them early this morning.
A rescue team of two divers and nine porters entered the cave just before 6am on tuesday, according to a journalist from the Agence France Presse (AFP).
Eric Zipper of the SSF told the AFP that this team of members of the SSF (French Cave Rescue) is intended to pass a short sumped section at about 2km from the entrance, on the other side of which they hope to find the trapped cavers.
The rescuers have taken with them food, medicine and equipment to enable them to communicate with the surface.
They are working on the basis that the six cavers, aged from 29 to 45, have taken refuge in a dry section about 200m beyond the sump, which the rescuers should reach by the end of the morning.
Conditions are improving as the water is now going down, according to a rescue team member.
Over the course of Sunday night, three rescue teams failed to make contact with the experienced cavers, who are themselves members of the SSF and local to the area.
?There is no need to be pessimistic but it is realistic to be concerned. As time goes on, it becomes more a matter for concern, as it?s one of the biggest caves in France?, said Jacques Barth?l?my the pr?fet of the Franche-Comt? region, who visited the site at 3pm on Monday to catch up with the progress of the rescue operation. He repeated ?These are experienced people, not novices".
The six cavers, from the <places named>, should have emerged in the middle of Sunday near Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne (Doubs), a distance of 8km from where they started their trip.
SSF technical adviser Eric David said ?They have clothing that should keep them warm and dry, survival blankets and ?enough food to last a week??. ?They all know what they need to do in case of being flooded in,? he added, suggesting that if uninjured they should be ok for a period of 'five days to a week'.
Around 25 local cave rescuers and 40 members of the fire service took part in operations over the course of Monday, at both the top and bottom entrances to the system.
Divers were not used as the water hadn?t completely filled the cave, and the passages are still swimmable according to rescuers.
The rain which fell heavily on the preceding night made for very difficult progress in the extensive Verneau system, which covers about 30km between D?servillers and Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne (Doubs). By Monday lunchtime the rain had eased, and M?t?o France predicted calm conditions for the next three days.
According to Eric David, the water started going down early on Monday afternoon, but because of the size of the system it is difficult to predict how long it will take to go down enough for the cavers to get out.
The rescuers have set up a network of telephone cables to enable them to remain in contact with the surface, and for the trapped cavers to make contact if they do reach the equipment.
In the early evening, a team is to go all the way to the major temporal sump halfway through the system, according to fire chief Andr? Benkemoun, and further activities will depend on the amount of water at this critical point.
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