Bulgarian Speleologists Trapped .....

[L Roebuck]

Bulgarian Speleologists Trapped in World's Deepest Cave
Politics: 18 October 2005, Tuesday.

Three Bulgarian speleologists and their partners from the Ukrainian-Bulgarian expedition Krubera 2005 have been trapped in the world's deepest cave - Krubera.

Due to the torrential rains continuing for a fourth day in a row the members of the expedition are trapped in their camps in the cave located in West Caucasus, Bulgaria's Speleology Federation announced.

Bulgarians Teodor Kisimov and Konstantin Stoilov are with their Ukrainian colleagues at a camp located at a depth of 1,790m.

Svetlomir Stanchev, the third Bulgarian in the expedition, is at a camp at a depth of 1,200m along with Russian speleologists.

It is still not clear when the speleologists will continue with their work, but the rain is expected to go on for another 4 to 5 days.

The head of the Bulgarian Speleology Federation Alexey Zhabov was cited as saying that the teams are fully equipped and have enough provisions for at least ten days.

The two base camps in Krubera are linked through a wire telephone and they keep in touch.

The Krubera 2005 expedition is a scientific one. The Bulgarian participants have to study the vertical and the horizontal galleries. The expedition is expected to end October 28.

Sofia News Agency
www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=53892

[L Roebuck]

Additional Information: Deepest Cave
Call of the Abyss
National Geographic
www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0505/feature4/index.html

[Sharon Faulkner]

Trapped Bulgarian Speleologists [have] Started Ascent
(Sofia News Agency 23 October 2005)

Teodor Kisimov and Konstantin Stoilov, who set a new record by descending further than any Bulgarian has ever been, have started climbing out of the world's deepest cave, Krubera (aka - Veronja). The two have passed one of the flooded galleries at -1,400 meters below the surface and are going for the -1,200-meter-deep base camp. Svetlomir Stanchev, who has already spent two days in the base camp, said that the melting snow did not obstruct the movement of the two. Earlier on Thursday it was reported that the Bulgarian speleologists who have been trapped in Krubera are expected to climb out by October 26. The Bulgarian Federation of Speleology announced that the joint Bulgarian-Ukrainian expedition, previously expected to last until October 28, will most likely be ended earlier due to the bad weather in the region.