Injured Italian caver Ottavia Piana has been freed after a 75-hour rescue

Ottavia Piana the caveman was airlifted to hospital after a painstaking rescue deep underground in a cave system in the Bergamo region of northern Italy.

Piana, 32, was exploring an unexplored area of ​​Abiso Bueno Fonteno cave on Saturday afternoon when a rock gave way beneath her feet and she fell 5-6 meters (16-19 feet), sustaining injuries to her spine, ribs, face and knee.

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

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

“She is tired, exhausted and in pain… We made it,” said Giorgio Panuzzo, a volunteer rescuer who was with her during Saturday’s incident.

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

Piana was involved in a project to map a previously unknown area of ​​the Abiso Bueno Fonteno cave system when she fell.

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

Rescuers were talking about a race against time to get her out because of her injuries. Dozens of volunteers took turns carrying her stretcher and clearing the many obstacles that stood in their way.

They had to go through narrow tunnels and sometimes use small explosive charges to get 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 statement said. “The rescue operation continued non-stop for 75 hours.

During the operation, Piana told her doctors that she never wanted to set foot in the cave again.