Overview
- A 20-year-old speleologist exploring the Grotta dei cinghiali volanti near Garessio became pinned beneath a rock about 120 metres down and suffered a foot injury that prevents him from climbing out.
- His companions exited the cave and called emergency services, prompting Soccorso Alpino teams to reach the nearby hamlet, descend to the scene and stabilize the trapped man.
- Rescuers have set up a cable telephone line to keep contact with the surface and are treating the injured speleologist while preparing a controlled extraction.
- Technical specialists called disostruttori are working to widen extremely narrow passages, a delicate and time-consuming task that will delay raising the man to the surface for many more hours.
- Rescuers cite a July rescue of Marco Massola as a precedent for the scale of work needed, and early reports indicate the injured speleologist does not appear to have life-threatening injuries.