"He was great," says Manuela Mulargia of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps. "He encouraged us."

Buried under rocks and debris for 27 long hours, ten meters deep , in the Gorropu 'e Ghirovai cave, near Urzulei. But so clinging to life that he gave rescuers strength, Luca Olmetto, a 31-year-old speleologist from Codrongianos, survived thanks to his steely resolve. "He held on until the end," remarked Salvatore Corrao, commander of the Nuoro fire department.

"The patient is under strict clinical monitoring in intensive care," according to a statement released by the Barbagia Local Health Authority. "He has no fractures, but he has sustained severe blunt trauma, a crushing injury, to a lower limb."