A huge rescue operation was under way north-east of the Italian city of Bergamo to free a caving instructor who became trapped while exploring a cave.
Ottavia Piana, 32, considered an expert spelunker, injured herself after falling 5 metres (16ft) on Saturday evening during an expedition with eight others to map a section of an uncharted branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave. She fell in the same cave system last year, fracturing her leg and remained trapped for 48 hours.
The alarm was raised on Saturday evening by the eight other cavers on her team. Rescuers, who said Piana was alert and responsive, reached her late on Sunday at a depth of 585 metres and used small explosives to get to her.
The main obstacle is a segment of tunnel about 100 metres long, too narrow to allow a stretcher to pass through. Rescuers are working to widen it but the operation is delicate and time-consuming, complicated by the depth of the cave and the lack of a complete geomorphological map.
The difficulties faced by the rescuers are also due to the stretcher on which Piana has been placed due to the fractures sustained from the fall. The rescuers must periodically stop to assess the condition of Piana, who is conscious and feeling better “even from a psychological and moral standpoint”, according to Mauro Guiducci, the deputy of the national Alpine Rescue.
“One thing is certain, these kinds of operations are very long,’’ Guiducci said.
Approximately 100 rescuers are on site, working in shifts, with a maximum of 20 people at a time in the tunnels, given the small size of the spaces.
Piana got stuck in the same cave last year, spending two days in it with a broken leg at a depth of 150 metres in a spot not far from where she is now.
A doctor who is assisting her after the latest fall said that she was planning to give up caving.
The Bueno Fonteno Abyss, located in the heart of the Western Sebino karst area, is a labyrinth of caves and tunnels that pose a challenge for the most experienced speleologists.
Associated Press contributed to this report
