About 200 people were rescued from Carlsbad Caverns National Park late Saturday night after being trapped for several hours amid heavy flooding, according to New Mexico officials.
About 200 people rescued from Carlsbad Caverns after heavy flooding
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Albuquerque residents Stephanie and Robert Saavedra told ABC affiliate KOAT-7 that they and their three children were among those stranded at the caverns for several hours.
They told the news outlet that their family was halfway finished with their tour when park officials issued an evacuation order.
The family walked for about 20 minutes to the caverns’ visitors center building but found that roads were impassable outside, meaning they could not leave.
As the Saavedra family waited to be rescued, they paced and worried about food. Stephanie Saavedra told KOAT-7 that staffers offered food for sale but ran out.
Stephanie Saavedra didn’t respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment Sunday.
Carlsbad Caverns was closed Sunday, according to the National Park Service.
New Mexico State Police, the Eddy County Fire Department and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office aided in the evacuation of those who were stranded by the substantial downpour, which left “about 200 people” stranded there, according to the Eddy County Office of Emergency Management.
Their extraction came the same week as other search and rescue efforts in the Southwest, where flooding has endangered hikers and other outdoors enthusiasts.
Last week, Arizona firefighters rescued 25 people, including three children and one infant, in Sabino Canyon Recreation Area’s Bear Canyon, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Water was moving at more than 3,000 cubic feet per second, Coronado National Forest officials said.
Authorities were searching for a Tucson woman this weekend after floodwaters rushed through Zion National Park on Friday, CNN reported. Zion National Park is nearly 600 miles away from Carlsbad Caverns and more than 300 miles from Tucson.
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