Rescuers rappel to reach woman stranded in Phoenix cave
PHOENIX (AP) — Officials say crews rappelled down to a cave in the Phoenix area to rescue a hiker.
Phoenix and suburban Tempe crews carried out the rescue Sunday afternoon on the south side of Papago Park, which is filled with large sandstone buttes pocked with holes.
The Phoenix Fire Department says a woman in her 20s was hiking when she found herself in a “precarious situation.”
She took shelter in a cave and called 911.
Fire officials say crews rappelled down to the cave, placed the woman in a harness and then rappelled about 350 feet to the base of the butte. She wasn’t injured.
About 16 to 20 firefighters assisted during the rescue, which took about two hours.