THREE people who went missing on a drunken late-night visit to the Paris catacombs have been rescued by police after spending two days lost underground.

The two men and a woman, all in their early twenties, were in a group of five who decided to have a party in the vast underground cemetery on Tuesday night.

They became separated from the rest of the group and tried to find their way out but ended up heading deeper into the network of tunnels.

Six teams of police officers were sent to find them, returning to the surface at regular intervals because there is no radio signal.

The missing party-goers were found, tired and suffering from shock. They each face a fine of €135 for trespassing.

The bones of more than six million Parisians from the 18th and 19th centuries are held in the catacombs. They were moved there after the city's cemeteries became overcrowded.

Only a small part of the catacombs are open to the public, but secret entrances exist throughout the city that are used by urban explorers and party organisers.

Photo: Vincent de Groote/Wikimedia