Floods Trap Cavers Deep Underground

More than 100 rescuers prepared Thursday to extract four cavers trapped thousands of feet underground in one of the world’s deepest caves. Flash floods already killed two of their companions.

Heavy rains and a summer snowstorm triggered the floods, which washed away most of the ropes and other equipment the British and Hungarian cavers used to negotiate the steep shafts.

Team leaders said they wouldn’t attempt the final rescue before Friday, in part to give the survivors a chance to rest before beginning their arduous climb to the surface.