News roundup - Sunday, 7 January

Several rescue scenarios possible as five people remain trapped in Križna Cave

CERKNICA - Five people have been trapped in Križna Jama, a carst cave with underground lakes near Cerknica, since yesterday after water levels in the cave rose because of heavy rain. Rescuers told the press they have several possible scenarios ready for rescuing a three-member family and two cave guides. Cave divers went into the cave last night and found the group about two kilometres from the entrance. None of them was injured and they moved to a safe spot inside the cave which is envisaged for such emergencies. Cave rescuers made a heated shelter for them, where they will have to wait for water levels to drop, which might take a few days.

Vlhova wins her third Golden Fox slalom in Kranjska Gora

LJUBLJANA - Slovakia's Petra Vlhova won the women's World Cup slalom race in Kranjska Gora in what is her third victory at the Golden Fox slalom events. German Lena Dürr was second (+0.72) and AJ Hurt from the US was third (+0.87). The best Slovenian was Andreja Slokar in 14th place (+2.43), as Ana Bucik did not make it to the finish line. This is the 31st World Cup victory for Vlhova, and her 22nd in slalom. This is also the third time since 2020 and 2022 that she won the Golden Fox competition overall after finishing fourth in Saturday's giant slalom.

Slovenia makes significant headway in road safety

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is making headway in road safety, with the number of casualties in 2023 the second lowest on record, official data shows. A total of 83 people died in traffic accidents in 2023, a significant improvement compared to the 130 who died in 2016, when the number was highest during the period observed in a report on the implementation of the National Road Safety Programme Resolution for 2013-2022. Looking at the past decade, Slovenia is one of the EU countries showing the most progress in road safety, shows the Traffic Safety Agency's report.