BY KAREN BOSSICK

Three people were injured Saturday evening when a bridge collapsed inside the Shoshone ice Caves.

The Lincoln County Sheriff was notified of the incident just before 6 p.m., according to KTVB. One person suffered possible broken ribs; two others had minor injuries, according to emergency personnel at the scene. They were transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

The Shoshone Ice Caves posted that reports of people being trapped in the cave was false: “Everyone is safe and has been seen for injuries they may have initially sustained and are being treated accordingly.”

A representative for the cave said they will repair the bridge and reopen after an engineer signs off: “Safely is number concern, not speed of repair for us.”

One of the tourgoers said she and her family will “110 percent go back to the caves.”

“Your guys staff was amazing and it was still an amazing experience, even though accidents do happen,” posted Kaitlin Sielaff. “The kid that was the tour guide needs a raise. He did everything right and was amazing at helping the people.”

The Shoshone Ice Caves are Idaho’s largest ice cave. They dive 100 feet below Idaho’s lava rock, opening up into an underground space that’s 1,700 feet long, 50 feet wide and 45 feet in height.

They’re a natural refrigerator boasting a thousand foot ice block or underground glacier with temperatures ranging from 23 to 29 degrees year-round. Townspeople used the caves for ice in the late 1800s.

LED lighting enables tourgoers to see nature’s stalactites and other wonders.