Our thanks to Paolo for this. Extracts:

“An injured explorer trapped underground in a cave in northern Italy for four days was carried to safety on Wednesday.

Ottavia Piana, 32, fell while attempting to map an unexplored branch of the Bueno Fonteno cave in the province of Bergamo.

Piana suffered multiple fractures, including to her face, ribs and knee, when she fell 5 meters (13 feet) while exploring an uncharted part of the cave on Saturday, doctors said…

Nearly 160 technicians from 13 Italian regions assisted in the round-the-clock rescue launched at midnight on Saturday, after being alerted by members of Piana’s team that she was injured and trapped deep inside the tunnel.

Piana’s rescuers said that the explorer herself encouraged the team…

Once Piana was rescued from the cave, a helicopter transported her to Bergamo hospital. Despite her various injuries, she is in stable condition, according to authorities.

Wednesday’s rescue marked the second time in 17 months that Piana had to be rescued from the cave near Lago d’Iseo northeast of Bergamo.” [J4MB emphasis. Doubtless she’ll also be rescued on her future expeditions, at huge cost and risk to the rescuers, almost all of whom will (inevitably) be men. Maybe it’s time she accepted she’s not very good at caving?]

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