Five tourists have been trapped 200 feet underground in the Grand Canyon Caverns since Sunday.
The five visitors became stuck in the deep caves in Peach Springs, Arizona after the elevator malfunctioned and stopped operating, state officials said.
The area is home to the largest dry caverns in the United States, a tourist attraction including an underground hotel and restaurant.
The tourists have medical issues that make it impossible for them to climb the 20 flights of stairs necessary to reach ground level, Coconino Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jon Paxton told NBC News.
The only alternate to using the elevator is the stairs, which Paxton described as being similar to an old fire escape, making it impossible for the five people to use them.
On Monday, elevator repair technicians attempted to fix the elevator. But their attempts proved unsuccessful after hooking up the elevator to an external generator did not fix the issue, which turned out not to be electrical, according to Paxton.
It is not certain how long it will take to repair the elevator.
For the time being, the trapped tourists have been given rooms in the underground hotel.
There is now a plan to rescue the tourists using ropes, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.