Boys injured in ice cave suffered broken backs

Two teenage boys rescued after an ice cave collapsed on them near Snoqualmie Pass underwent surgery for broken backs and other injuries today.

Alec Corbett, 17, was upgraded from serious to satisfactory condition, his family said in a statement released by Harborview Medical Center. His neighbor in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, Alessandro Gelmini, 14, remained in serious condition. In addition to a broken back, he suffered facial fractures and a broken ankle, his family said.

The boys were hiking with their mothers and their sisters Thursday two miles up a trail in the Denny Creek area, 50 miles east of Seattle, when they wandered into the mouth of the ice cave. With a deafening crack, a 50-foot swath of the cave's roof crashed down on them.

"I don't think there's anybody who thought we were going to bring out two live, talking patients," said Eastside Fire and Rescue Lt. Dean deAlteriis.

In their statements, the families thanked rescuers and other hikers who "risked their lives" to help.

"God is good, and we have our boys back," the Gelminis wrote.