Injured Italian speleologist Ottavia Piano is freed after a 75-hour rescue

Speleologist Ottavia Piano was airlifted to hospital after a painstaking rescue deep underground in a cave system in the Bergamo area of ​​northern Italy.

Piana, 32, was exploring an unexplored area of ​​the Abyss Buena Fontaine cave on Saturday afternoon when a rock fell beneath her feet and she fell 5-6 meters (16-19 feet), injuring her vertebrae, ribs, face and knees .

More than 150 volunteers led by Italy’s Alpine and Cave Rescue Corps took part in the operation and her stretcher was removed at around 0300 (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.

Piano is an experienced caver and this was the second time in 17 months that she had been rescued from a cave system.

“She is tired, exhausted and in pain… We have succeeded,” said Giorgio Panuzza, a rescue volunteer who was with her at the time of the accident on Saturday.

“A freezing wind was blowing near the entrance (of the cave) and if we had stopped, it would have suffered even more from the cold. So we were in a hurry,” he told the Italian media.

Piano was involved in a project to map a previously unknown area of ​​the Abyss-Buen-Fontain cave system when she fell.

The area between Lakes Iseo and Endin consists of a network of caves, tunnels and underground galleries, most of which have never been explored.

Rescuers spoke of a race against time to get her out because of her injuries. Dozens of volunteers took turns carrying her stretcher and removed numerous obstacles that stood in their way.

They had to navigate narrow tunnels and sometimes use small explosive charges to pull her out.

The CNSAS Alpine Rescue Service reported that 159 volunteers from 13 Italian regions took part in the operation. “The injured woman was constantly monitored and assisted by a total of six doctors and eight nurses,” the report says. “The rescue operation continued continuously for 75 hours.”

During the operation, Piana told the doctors that she never wanted to enter the cave again.