A man who was trapped in a southwest Virginia cave for 47 hours praised God for his rescue.

“The Lord watched over us,” the man told WCYB a CNN affiliate.

Six men entered the Cyclops Cave together, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s search and rescue coordinator, Billy Chimes.

Seven hours later, the first man emerged from the cave. Once he was able to get out, he told authorities that the other men were having trouble getting out.

He was especially concerned because he knew the men were exhausted and faced the threat of hypothermia.

The cave was given its unique name for the “bubble-like formation” referred to as the “eye” of the Cyclops, the emergency management coordinator for Russell County Jess Powers said.

The group was planning to camp in the cave for a few days but a heavy downpour the previous night made conditions muddy and wet which likely added to their difficulties.

A wide network of cave rescue teams responded to the emergency. There were also a number of team on the East Coast who were ready if they needed additional assistance.

The size of the cave was small so the rescue took a considerable amount of time, he said.

The rescue teams had to assess the situation and then report because they there cell phones and radios did not work inside the cave.

While the rescue took time, the rescuers training really helped the entire process.

“It’s a process but this is what we train for so there were no hiccups today everything went really smoothly, “ volunteer cave rescuer Eric Stanley told WCYB.

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