Elevator breakdown in the Grand Canyon Caverns trapped a group of tourists 210ft below the ground

The Grand Canyon Caverns offer an exciting experience of touring 210 ft underground. However, the unexpected can happen at any time. A team of five were stuck for more than 24 hours after they completed a 30-minute tour of the caverns. The group consisted of a man, his wife with two young children and at least two elderly persons in their 70s. They were 21 storeys below ground level and preparing to return when they discovered the lift was not working. It was Sunday night local time and panic set in. The arrangement allows the tourists to tour an ancient cave and stay in an underground hotel 120 miles southwest of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Obviously, it was a tricky situation. Fortunately, one member of the group climbed the emergency staircase to the surface. He was thus able to notify the authorities who took necessary measures to rescue the trapped tourists. Five tourists hoisted to safety after lift stops working... 210ft under Grand Canyon Caverns.

According to the Police, five members of the stranded party were "not capable of self-evacuating using the emergency staircase." They had to remain in a hotel suite at the bottom of the cavern overnight. That was after the authorities took a decision that they should stay there while the elevator was repaired. This action ensured their safety and access to food as they awaited rescue. The rescue workers arranged to secure each of the tourists in a harness and lift them one by one up the shaft. Each rescue operation took approximately 15 minutes and no one was injured. The complete process had a touch of professionalism.

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Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks back and the cost of major agricultural products are going beyond the reach of people. Wheat is an all-important item in the kitchen. The combined supplies from Russia and Ukraine make up nearly 30 percent of global wheat trade. This is now at risk. These two countries are the breadbasket for many countries. These are in the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Many of them would feel the after effects of ongoing war. Another major problem is availability of fertilizer. This is essential for farmers but it is becoming more expensive. Russia is not exporting it and output in Europe has reduced. This is because of surging price of natural gas, which is a major ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers like urea. Global health experts are worried.

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Source –

edition.cnn.com dated 12 March 2022

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As the ceasefire holds for the first day, fresh humanitarian aid is believed to be on its way to the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo. Nearly 20 trucks carrying food, children's clothes and toys crossed into northern Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu with the death toll of the five-year civil war reaching 300,000.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 13 September 2016.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that more than 86,000 civilians were among the 301,781 people killed since the start of the conflict in March 2011. This figure is an increase of nearly 9,000 on the last death toll published by the UK-based monitoring group in early August. This would mean 9000 deaths happened last month. The ceasefire will be renewed every 48 hours and, if it holds for a week, the US and Russia are due to begin sharing intelligence too. Hopefully, humanitarian supplies can also be distributed.
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Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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