Speleologist Ottavia Piana, who had been trapped since Saturday afternoon after falling on her back from a height of over five metres while exploring a still little-known section of the Bueno Fonteno Abyss, in the Bergamo area, was taken out of the cave at 3.15 last night.
The Alpine Rescue announced it. In the last stretch, the rescuers were able to speed up the pace, also on the advice of the health workers who will now have to carefully evaluate his health conditions.
The 32-year-old woman reportedly suffered trauma to her vertebrae and ribs, fractures to her facial bones and a knee. She was immediately transferred by helicopter to the hospital in Bergamo.
Over 120 Alpine and Speleological Rescue technicians formed 5 rescue teams: some dedicated to transporting the stretcher, others to anticipate its passage by clearing problematic sections, also with the use of small explosive charges.
The technicians arrived from Lombardy, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige, Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto but the arrival of additional personnel from Sardinia had also been arranged.
The rescuer: «Piana is an expert»
"We don't judge the people we help: we just know that there is a person in difficulty and we intervene. We can perhaps judge some inexperienced behavior, but this was not the case. It was an expert speleologist, with a lot of experience behind her, and she was correctly equipped. I can say that it was an unfortunate circumstance ." Federico Catania, one of the rescuers of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps who this morning saved Piana, who in 2023 remained stuck in the same place, speaks about it to the microphones of RTL 102.5.
"When they ask us why she went back to the cave, it's a bit like asking why a person goes back to riding a bike even after a fall, or why a skier, an athlete, or any enthusiast continues to practice his passion despite the risks . I don't feel like judging what happened. She has now been airlifted to the hospital in Bergamo, and we hope she gets better soon," he added. "The doctor and her boyfriend were present when she left the cave, and their reunion, after four days apart, was truly emotional."
(Online Union)