Six die in underground tunnel in Canaries

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2007

TENERIFE, Spain (AFP) — Six people died after becoming trapped in a 200-year-old underground tunnel on the Spanish island of Tenerife, but 23 people were rescued from the shaft, officials said.

A spokeswoman for the Canary Islands authorities said the dead were five Spaniards and one Italian.

All the bodies were recovered on Sunday. The victims were believed to have died from lack of oxygen.

Another 23 people in the group exploring the tunnel when they became lost Saturday were brought to safety. The alarm was raised by a group member who managed to escape unaided.

The survivors had been found to be suffering from exhaustion, dizziness and nausea.

The group, including members of a local ecological association attached to the Canary Islands...