Cavers freed then arrested

A team of Britons have been arrested within hours of being rescued from underground caves in Mexico.

The group of six were taken into custody by the Mexican authorities after a medical examination and questioned, with seven others from the British armed forces expedition, about their immigration status .

A diplomatic row has erupted over the team, who spent 11 days underground - the last six trapped on a 15ft ledge above a fast-flowing underground river.

Mexican president Vicente Fox is demanding Britain gives a "detailed, clear and rapid explanation" for the cavers' presence in his country. The team from the Combined Services Caving Association had entered Mexico on tourist visas and insist they were simply mapping the Alpazat caverns near the town of Cuetzalan.

Mexico's assistant interior secretary Armando Salinas said the entire expedition had been taken to a military hospital and would then be driven to a detention centre in Mexico City, 120 miles away.

They could face prison if it is found they entered the country on false pretences, although it is more likely they will be expelled. Mexican officials are said to be furious that foreign soldiers entered the country without permission. Wilder reports in the Mexican press claim the expedition had been prospecting for uranium to make nuclear bombs.

Two British civilian divers from the Cave Rescue Organisation, carrying scuba equipment and backed by local rescuers, reached the group yesterday after battling for six hours. The cavers were led to safety one by one through the maze of tunnels in the cave complex, where waters had risen unexpectedly after several days of rain.

As they emerged into daylight, the wet, bedraggled cavers admitted that they were embarrassed by the attention. "It wasn't scary, it was inconvenient,"-said one of them, Jonathan Sims. "Everything went as planned. The unfortunate thing is we got too much media attention. We would have been thinner if we'd stayed another week, but we could have done it."

The men had used a camping stove to cook pasta and instant chocolate cake. They had light and plenty of dry clothing and sleeping bags. Another rescued caver, Toby Hamnett, said they were "quite cheerful". The others were Charles Milton, Simon Cornhill, Chris Mitchell and John Roe, but British officials did not say which were military.

Rescue diver Jason Mullison, described the operation as "tricky".