Cavers Go From Cold To Hot Water

Six British cave explorers were rescued late Thursday from a cavern in central Mexico, but authorities ordered them detained on suspicion of immigration violations amid a diplomatic spat.

The six British military men were exploring inside the remote Alpazat cavern when heavy rains flooded the entrance, reports CBS News' Adrienne Bard. They were trapped inside for eight days and initially refused help from Mexican rescuers, asking instead for a team of experts from London. In the end, both British and Mexican rescuers helped free the men in an operation that took about six hours.

They now face questioning from Mexican immigration, and were to be transferred to an immigration detention center in Mexico City.

Authorities planned to question them about their activities amid suggestions that the men violated their tourist visas by conducting a scientific or military expedition without approval.

"We have reason to suppose that their actions could touch on our immigration law," Assistant Interior Secretary Armando Salinas said at a late-night news conference in Mexico City. "Their stay was legal as tourists, but there are indications that their activities were not of this type."

Mexico is especially sensitive to perceived threats to its sovereignty or prestige and the dive team's decision to await British rescuers rather than accept local help inflamed the national media, which raised questions about the purpose of the expedition.

Britain's Foreign Office said earlier in London that the trip was "strictly a caving expedition, had no other purpose and any suggestions to the contrary are completely unfounded."

Salinas said no equipment had been recovered from the cave that would in any way suggest the Britons were prospecting for uranium — one of the rumors circulated in the Mexican media.

Two British and several Mexican underwater specialists worked for about six hours throughout the day, escorting the final team member from the cavern as night fell in the state of Puebla.

Four of the trapped explorers were members of Britain's Combined Services — made up of members of the country's army, navy and air force.

They had to retreat to a dry section of the underground cavern on March 17 after heavy rains flooded the mouth of the cave. The men had provisions but not adequate scuba equipment to swim out on their own.

One of those rescued, Jonathan Sims, said the team was never in danger and would have preferred to just wait underground for the water to run off so that they could walk out without assistance.

"Everything went as planned," Sims said. "We thought we might have a problem with the (water) so we put in a plan, we had food in there, communications."

They spent part of the time awaiting rescuers by playing games with a deck of cards fashioned from a logbook, the BBC reported.

Each explorer was given sandwiches and fruit drinks upon being rescued and all were reported in good health. They told BBC correspondent Claire Marshall they were "looking forward to a good beer."

Before the rescue Thursday, the Foreign Relations Department expressed "profound concern" that the explorers had failed to seek permission to enter the country for scientific explorations.

A diplomatic note demanded a "detailed explanation of the type of activities" the group was carrying out "and about the objectives of their investigation."

British defense attaché Ian Blair-Tilling said British soldiers had been coming to Mexico for underground explorations for 20 years.

"This is an expedition which has military personnel in it, (but) it is not a military mission," Blair-Tilling said. "It is a group of caving enthusiasts."

On Wednesday, Mexican President Vicente Fox said his government was sending a letter of protest and a demand for clarification from the British government.

The British Ministry of Defense said the men were on an "official military adventurous training expedition" of a military caving club, though not a formal military exercise.

A spokesman for Mexico's National Migration Institute said scientific or exploration teams require special visas, and that laws would prohibit training exercises by foreign military forces on Mexican soil.