The Cantabria regional government has activated the Rescue Operations Protocol to locate two youths who entered the Garmaciega-Sima del Sombrero cave around midday on Saturday, without 112 being notified beforehand. The incident prompted a coordinated search and rescue response to ensure the safety of the two climbers identified as a boy and a girl from Castile and León who had joined an excursion promoted by a company that provides access gear for autonomous cave traversal, according to an official statement from the Cantabria government.
A command post was established at La Gándara de Soba, and the local zone emergency coordinator, the on‑call technician, and other responders were mobilized. In addition, support was requested from specialized units that routinely assist in cave and mountain emergencies, including Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group, the Red Cross, and the Military Emergency Unit, for their expertise and resources.
Communication about the situation was also conveyed to the mayor of Soba, Julián Fuentecilla. He offered the town’s sports complex as a staging area for Protección Civil and Cantabria’s Emergency Executives teams, who traveled to the scene to set up the rescue device and manage the evolving operations on the ground.