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The Irish Sun

‘Felt like Titanic' – Dramatic moment punters forced to flee as Irish caves submerged in ‘freak' flash flood ‘waterfall'

THIS is the shocking moment a couple had to be rescued from a cave in Co Fermanagh after it was submerged in a "freak" flash flood. The footage showed how Kim Mahon Hay and her husband were caught in the frightening experience at the Marble Arch Caves on Sunday. Advertisement 5 Kim Mahon Hay and her husband Alistair Hay before the cave was flooded Credit: Kim Mahon May 5 They thought the cave would be the perfect place to shelter in heavy rain Credit: TikTok/@our_emeraldhome 5 The cave was submerged under water on Sunday evening Credit: TikTok/@our_emeraldhome 5 It took about 15 minutes until the group were rescued back to the visitor centre Credit: TikTok/@our_emeraldhome Met Eireann warned on Sunday that a status orange rain warning was in place for several areas until Monday afternoon. The alert is classified as for weather that is "dangerous, infrequent or disruptive" and bosses warned that the heavy rain could cause Amber and yellow warnings were in place for much of the north and west of the country while towns in Co Down and Co Fermanagh experienced record levels of rain. The dangerous weather conditions impacted river and coastal flooding, causing "dangerous Advertisement Read more in News It is understood that the heavy rain also caused major traffic disruption and areas, such as Dromcollogher on the Cork-Limerick border, were And a Met Office forecaster estimated that parts of Fermanagh, where Kim and Alistair visited the Marble Arch Caves, may have seen up to 100mm of rainfall in the space of three hours. The couple decided to visit the caves near Florencecourt as both believed it would be the perfect place to shelter from the downpours. But their plans went down the drain when after 30 minutes into the guided tour, the cave was submerged under water after heavy rain battered the area. Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN Kim told us: "We thought we'll go visit the Marble Arch Caves because that way we'll get out of the rain for an hour. "Little did we know that we were going to get soaked in the caves because of the rain coming in. "There was no rain when we arrived at the caves at around 4:15pm. There was kind of a few grey clouds, but at that stage we weren't at any risk of going into the caves. Irish village hit with flood hell after 'heavy rain' and thunderstorms "We were kind of about 30 minutes into the guided tour and there was like a a rumble and then all of a sudden it sounded like a lot of water was coming into the cave. Advertisement "We had a natural waterfalls, we could hear water coming... The water was coming into the pathways that we had to walk around. It kind of reminded me of things from the Titanic." The couple was part of a group of 17 exploring the caves on Sunday evening. Kim also said the Marble Arch Cave staff were "fantastic" from the moment they started receiving radio messages about the bizarre She added: "They had never ever seen anything like that happened before. The tour guide was fantastic. She reassured everybody it was ok. Advertisement "She wasn't panicked. She's remained calm. So I think watching her reaction, I didn't feel that I needed to panic at that stage. "When they realised that the water was actually coming in, they've got a few more staff members down with umbrellas. But the force of the water just kind of buckled the umbrellas and they weren't any good to keep the water off because it was coming in in such force. "I wouldn't say panic because I don't think anybody in the group panicked. Everybody seemed to be very calm. Like the screams was from the freezing cold water, like coming in on top of you. It was ice cold water. "Well, I did like when I definitely, when we turned onto the stairwells and you're looking, of course, the water that you have to walk against and you couldn't actually see the stairs under your feet. Advertisement 'LITTLE AFRAID' "I was probably a little afraid. But at no stage we were fearful that like we were in like great danger as the guides reassured us that we would get out safety fairly." Kim has also explained that it took about 15 minutes until the group were rescued back to the visitor centre. It was her second visit to the Marble Arch Caves - the first one was during a school trip when she was about 11-years. She continued: "I just definitely felt that great sigh of relief when I got to the top. So I must have been frightened to feel that sigh of relief. Advertisement "I definitely was kind of looking back at the videos and reflecting on what happened. And it could have been a very serious situation, so without the quick thinking and action of the staff, it could have been a serious situation. DATE TO REMEMBER "It's definitely a date we'll never forget. But this wouldn't put me off going to visit the caves again. "Myself and husband are actually thinking of taking our daughters there in a couple of weeks time to visit the caves again and finish the church." Kim, who posts under @ Advertisement Hundreds took to the comments section to share their shock over the freak weather event. One said: "Well that's a date you'll never forget." Someone else added: "Well done for cave staff keeping the visitors calm, I think most of us would have been terrified in those circumstances, which sadly could've come out a lot worse then just wet clothing." A third wrote: "That genuinely terrifying and could have been so much worse." Advertisement 5 The couple got caught in a flood while on a day date at Marble Arch Caves last Sunday Credit: Kim Mahon May