Three men trapped in Aussie landmark Uluru rescued after 11-hour recovery mission    CANBERRA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Three men who became trapped in a crevice while climbing the iconic Australian tourist attraction Uluru have been safely brought back to solid ground following an 11-hour rescue mission, the Northern Territory authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

     The Australian men, all aged 23, became stuck in a crevice on the 348 meter high rock formation at around midday on Monday before Northern Territory emergency services were able to climb into the crevice, rescue the men and abseil them to safety at around 3:30am.

     The incident has resulted in renewed calls for tourists to abstain from climbing Uluru. Taking part in a walk up the massive sandstone rock formation is not illegal. However, traditional land owners appeal for visitors not to climb it as it holds special spiritual significance and crosses the sacred Dreamtime track.   One witness told Fairfax Media that the three men seemed to veer off the pathway and found themselves unable to re-join the path after becoming stuck.

     "They actually got three quarters or even more down the face of the rock in the wrong spot," Australian man David Rowe said.

     "They got to the point where it's too step to do the final bit,  but too hard to go up again."

     There are designated tracks available to those who wish to climb the attraction, though many tourists choose to respect the wishes of the Indigenous land owners' wishes.

     "There are signs there saying the local indigenous people would prefer you not (climb Uluru). I just think we're on their turf so if they don't want me to I'm quite happy not to do it," Rowe said.

     It's thought that over time, around 35 people have perished climbing the attraction, either from heat exhaustion, heart attack or from a fall.

     The last incident involving tourists climbing the rock occurred in 2015.  Enditem

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by XinHua News Agency

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