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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President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden are grieving with victims' families. He also said that his administration is working with Mr Cooper to help local authorities with their investigation. This incident in Raleigh is the latest in a violent week across America, with another five people killed in a shooting in South Carolina on Sunday. On Wednesday night, two police officers were fatally shot in Connecticut. Incidentally, in this week gunmen have targeted police officers in Greenville, Mississippi; Decatur, Illinois; Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and central Florida. Two of them, one in Greenville and one in Las Vegas, died. The latest violence was the 25th mass killing in 2022 involving fatal shootings. This is as per the database of Northeastern University Mass Killings. The definition of mass killing is one when four or more people are killed, excluding the perpetrator.

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Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha met the families of the victims. He lay flowers and observed a moment of silence in front of the centre. King Maha also Vajiralongkorn visited the hospital. The Vatican said Pope Francis was deeply saddened by the "horrific attack." He condemned it as an "act of unspeakable violence against innocent children." Incidentally, there have been earlier instances of death in schools in other parts of the world. In Norway in 2011, Anders Breivik killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a summer camp. Later, in 2012, it was the killing of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut. In 1996, the toll as of 16 at Dunblane in Scotland and 19 at a school in Uvalde, Texas, this year. As far as Thailand goes, it has strict gun laws but gun ownership is high when compared with some Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, illegal weapons are common, with many brought in from strife-torn neighbours.

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A spokesman of the Kabul police confirmed - “A blast happened inside a mosque … the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet.” Witnesses revealed to the media about the blast that shattered windows in nearby buildings. Intelligence teams arrived at the site of the blast and the matter is under investigation. The Taliban took over in August last year after the withdrawal of United States-led NATO forces. The de-facto government of the Taliban has yet to be recognized by the world. The Taliban asserts that it has made the nation secure but Afghanistan continues to witness regular attacks by armed groups. Militant groups commit many of these. Last week, a bomb attack killed a prominent Taliban religious leader at a seminary in Kabul. The ISIL (ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier, in June, there was an attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul in which two people were killed.

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At least 15 killed in shootout in Mexico between police and drug gangs

Shootout between police and two rival drug gangs in northern Mexico has left at least 15 dead. It was a predawn battle near Las Varas and it began ass a firefight between rival drug trafficking gangs and escalated when police arrived.
The region is hotly disputed territory for Mexico's drug cartels because its mountainous terrain and proximity to the border of the US make it a strategic corridor for sending cross shipment of narcotics to America.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 6 July 2017.

Fifteen people belonging to the drug gangs were killed and another five are arrested. This is the latest in a series of deadly clashes between police, rival drug gangs and warring factions within one of the drug cartels which has been in turmoil since its kingpin was extradited to the United States in January.
It seems last Friday, 17 gunmen were killed in a shootout with police on a highway in Sinaloa. Incidentally, May was the deadliest month in Mexico since the government began keeping track in 1997 - it accounted for more than 2100 homicides.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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