MILAN (AP) – A cave explorer who was injured in northern Italy was airlifted to safety Wednesday, 75 hours after she fell while trying to explore an unexplored branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave. mapping, alpine rescuers said.
The last leg of the rescue operation went more smoothly than expected, and workers carrying 32-year-old Ottavia Piana, tied in a stretcher, arrived at the mouth of the cave early in the morning. It was her second time in 17 months that she was rescued from the cave near Lago d'Iseo north-east of Bergamo.
Piana suffered multiple fractures, including her face, ribs and knee, when she fell 5 meters (13 feet) while exploring an uncharted part of the cave on Saturday, doctors said. Bueno Fonteno cave is located about 500 meters (yards) underground, with the map area reaching about 19 kilometers (nearly 12 miles).
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It was especially difficult to remove a harrow through the narrow, uncharted part of the cave. Video showed her wrapped in blankets and strapped to a stretcher going through a narrow corridor surrounded by a team of helmeted rescuers, which included doctors and nurses. They stopped every 90 minutes to assess his condition.
By late Tuesday afternoon, they reached the main tunnel and the final passage went much faster than expected, arriving at least 12 hours ahead of schedule.
Nearly 160 technicians from 13 Italian regions helped in the round-the-clock rescue which was launched at midnight on Saturday, after receiving a call from members of her team that she was wounded and trapped deep inside the tunnel.
