Rescue Efforts Underway to Free Trapped Cave Explorer in Italy

Rescue crews are working to free an expert spelunker who became trapped nearly 2,000 feet underground while exploring a cave in Italy, northeast of the city of Bergamo, after falling and injuring herself.

Ottavia Piana, 32, was part of a group of 12 cave explorers from the Italian alpine club who had set off to explore an uncharted branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave on Saturday, according to The Independent. The group had been planning to map the tunnels in the cave system, which is known as one of the largest karst labyrinths in Lombardy, located between Lake Iseo and Lake Idro.

However, Piana became injured when she fell approximately 16 feet on Saturday evening during an expedition to map a half-mile branch of the cave. Rescuers reached her on Sunday night and said she was alert and responsive, but it has not been an easy feat to bring her to safety. The team had to employ drills, hammers, and small explosives to breach the final 100 meters where the cave system began to bottleneck, in order to allow a stretcher to pass through.

Medics and technicians worked to stabilize her condition at a temporary heated base camp, amid high-humidity temperatures of 44 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, using oxygen, medicine, and a fan to circulate warm air. But now, the rescue team faces the arduous task of navigating the narrow, jagged passages of the cave to bring her to safety.

"We can’t predict how long it will take, but these operations are always lengthy," said Mauro Guiducci, a spokesman for the rescue operation. He noted that there were about 20 technicians inside the cave helping to move Piana on a stretcher, with dozens more were assisting above ground.

Coincidentally enough, Piana fell in a similar area of the cave system last year. In that instance she fractured her leg and remained trapped for 48 hours.