- MEXICO CITY (Reuters)
- Mexican migration authorities said on Friday they would question a group
of British cavers on an expedition that fueled a diplomatic quarrel after
six of them were trapped underground for a week.
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- Four of the trapped cavers are members of the British
armed forces, and the Mexican government is upset it was not told in advance
of their presence. Scuba divers plucked the six from a from a cave system
in central Mexico on Thursday.
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- A migration spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told
Reuters expedition members would be questioned at the Iztapalapa immigration
center in Mexico City.
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- "The group are to be questioned by migration officials
so that they can explain what they have been doing," she said. She
added it was unclear if the Britons would be detained.
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- Thirteen cavers in all took part in the expedition. Most
were members of the Combined Services Caving Association, an enthusiasts
group made up of active and retired British military members and civilians
in the defense ministry.
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- The trapped cavers had become blocked by surging underground
floodwaters two days into a routine exploration trip in the Cuetzalan caves
in Puebla province.
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- Late on Thursday, Mexican immigration undersecretary
Armando Salinas said expedition members, who had entered Mexico on tourist
visas, would be handed over to immigration authorities for questioning.
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- Mexican President Vicente Fox has asked for a "swift"
explanation of what the foreign soldiers were doing in the cave complex,
one of the most extensive in the world. Mexico does not allow foreign military
exercises on its soil.
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