A family were trapped in a cave for two days after a storm hit during a sightseeing tour – with one person dead and three others still missing.
What started as a birthday celebration ended in tragedy when heavy rains triggered a flash flood in the cave system.
Six family members and a guide were trapped inside the subterranean river.
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One man died and three others have been missing for more than 48 hours.
The Peña family, who comes from Chignautla in Puebla State, Mexico, entered the Cave of Chichicazapan in Cuetzalan on Tuesday afternoon (7 Jul).
The group were accompanied by a registered local guide.
Intense rainfall caused the underground river to surge rapidly.
The guide suggested sheltering inside to avoid getting wet, but rising waters and strong currents swept the group deeper into the cave system, making escape impossible.
Three people — Araceli Antonio Peña, Agustín Julián (boyfriend of one of the daughters), and the guide — managed to fight the current and reach safety on the first day.
Rescuers later extracted them, with some requiring hospital treatment.
On Wednesday, search teams recovered the body of Gerardo Julián de los Santos, aged 31 and brother of Agustín, who had drowned.
The three people still missing are Ismael Peña, Araceli’s husband, and their daughters Karime Peña, 24, and Jazmín Lizbeth Peña, 21.
Araceli, 40, wife and mother of the missing, said: “We went in when it had only just started raining.
“The guide told us to go further inside so we wouldn’t get wet.
“We never thought the cave would flood.”
The guide, employed by the firm Destino de Aventura and properly registered, was hospitalised overnight before being discharged.
Ongoing search efforts involving eight specialist teams — including divers, rappellers, and speleologists — have been repeatedly suspended because of ongoing rain and safety risks to rescuers.
Cuetzalan, located in the humid Sierra Norte highlands, is notorious for frequent heavy rainfall that can quickly swell subterranean waterways.
Authorities have stressed that operations will resume only during safe weather windows.
According to reports, the tourists received only basic equipment such as life jackets, helmets, and lamps, with no ropes or advanced safety gear.
The family travelled to celebrate their youngest daughter’s 21st birthday and to fulfil her wish to visit the caves. T
The incident has highlighted the dangers of entering cave systems during Mexico’s rainy season without robust contingency measures.
The search operation continues.
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