Rescued after a 12-hour rescue operation, the 41-year-old speleologist fell and injured 120 meters deep in the Rotolo cave in Monopoli (Bari). More than 40 technicians, doctors and health workers of the Alpine and speleological rescue from Puglia, Basilicata and Campania have put themselves to work.
The woman is reported to be in good health: she should have fractured an arm in the fall, and by midnight, on a stretcher, the long ascent route had begun. about 700 meters. The rescuers had to unblock some narrow passages to facilitate the ascent of the stretcher. The speleologist had descended into the cave at dawn yesterday with a group of ten people for a pre-exploration activity and for the transport of material and equipment, including oxygen cylinders, in anticipation of a future speleosubwater exploration in the aquifer below.
“This is the deepest cave in Puglia – explains the regional president of the Alpine and Speleological Rescue, Gianni Grassi – and the group had about 700 meters made up of many narrow and winding passages “. The point where the 41-year-old was injured, around 6 pm yesterday when the rescuers were alerted,” is at a depth of 120 meters – he explains – and getting back on a stretcher is particularly difficult “.
The woman, who received care and assistance from the medical staff of the Apulia Alpine and Speleological Rescue, who intervened on the spot with several expert speleologists and with the support of colleagues from Campania, was placed and stabilized on a stretcher. She remained alert and cooperative. Her conditions are good and as soon as she left, the speleologist was handed over to the care of 118.
The rescue group that had come down for her, consisting of 21 people including technicians and health workers, he covered about half of the route in ten hours but the last part was simpler because it was linear. When the woman fell, the others in the group went up and a person remained with her until the rescuers arrived who stabilized and embarrassed the injured person, starting the ascent inside the cave.