Injured spelunker carried to safety in Italy after being trapped for 75 hours

MILAN -- An injured cave explorer in northern Italy was carried to safety Wednesday, 75 hours after she fell while attempting to map an unexplored branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave, alpine rescuers said.

The last leg of the rescue operation proceeded more smoothly than expected, and workers carrying 32-year-old Ottavia Piana strapped into a stretcher reached the cave’s mouth in the early morning hours. It was her second time in 17 months to be rescued from the cave near Lago d’Iseo northeast of Bergamo.

Piana suffered multiple fractures, including to her face, ribs and knee, when she fell 5 meters (13 feet) while exploring an uncharted part of the cave on Saturday, doctors said. The Bueno Fonteno cave is located some 500 meters (yards) below ground, with the mapped area reaching some 19 kilometers (nearly 12 miles).

Removal through the narrow, uncharted part of the cave was especially harrowing. Video showed her wrapped in blankets and strapped to a stretcher being passed through narrow passageways by a team of helmeted rescuers, which included doctors and nurses on rotation. They stopped every 90 minutes to assess her condition.

By late afternoon on Tuesday, they reached the main tunnel and the final passage went much more quickly than anticipated, arriving at least 12 hours before expected.

Nearly 160 technicians from 13 Italian regions assisted in the round-the-clock rescue launched at midnight Saturday, after being alerted by members of her team that she was injured and trapped deep inside the tunnel.