A massive rescue operation has been launched under the north-east Italian city of Bergamo to rescue a trapped cave explorer.
Ottavia Piana, a 32-year-old prized expert caver, survived a 5-meter (16ft) fall on Saturday evening during an expedition with eight others to describe a section of the unknown branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave. He fell in the same cave system last year, broke his leg and remained trapped for 48 hours.
He was shocked on Saturday evening by eight other cavers on his team. Rescuers, who said Piana would be alert and responsive, reached a height of 585 meters late on Sunday and used small explosives to reach it.
The main obstacle is a segment of the tunnel about 100 meters long, too narrow to allow the coffin to pass. Restorers are working to expand it, but it is a delicate and time-consuming operation, which is complicated by the depth of the cave and the complete lack of geographical geomorphology.
The difficulties encountered by the conservators are also due to the pallet on which the piano was placed because of the fractures sustained from the fall. The rescuers must stop periodically to assess the condition of Piana, who is better aware and feeling “or from a psychological and moral point of view”, according to Mauro Guiducci, deputy of the Alpine Rescue Nation.
“Obviously, these types of operations are very long-term,” said Guiducci.
There are about 100 guards on site, working in shifts, with a maximum of 20 people at a time in the tunnels, given the small space.
flat got stuck in the same cave last yeartwo days, with a broken leg, at a height of 150 meters in a place not far from where he is now.
The doctor who helped him after the last accident said that he was preparing to give up the cave.
The abyss of Bueno Fonteno, located in the Karst area of Western Sebino, is a labyrinth of caves and tunnels that challenge the most experienced speleologists.
Post Newsletter promotion
The Associated Press contributed to this report