Today, December 15th, at 2:59, the rescuers of National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) concluded the rescue of Ottavia Piana After 75 hours – therefore ahead of schedule – reaching the release of the Bueno Fonteno Cave. The speleologist was trapped Saturday 14 December following a fall from approx 5 meters in a still unexplored section of the cave, forcing his expedition companions to go out to call for help. They rushed to the scene 159 technicians from all over northern Italy, including healthcare personnel and technicians, and once outside she was taken care of by the air ambulance AREU 118 and taken to theBergamo hospital.
During the transport of the wound towards the exit we proceeded at a pace of an hour and a half of movement alternating with an hour’s breakso as to provide Piana with all the necessary medical care. Such a “slow” advance – typical of the underground environment – is linked to the typical difficulties of the environment and therefore requires a high number of people involved, so as to allow a constant rotation of rescue personnel.
At the time of exit the stretcher was carried by a total of 6 doctors And 8 nurses and the Alpine Rescue rescuers reported following the rescue that the speleologist, although in pain and visibly exhausted, was still conscious and lucid when she left the cave.
But why was Ottavia Piana inside an unexplored cave? And what is the role of speleologists within the sciences? To clarify all these doubts, we have created a video ad hoc on the topic, which you can find here:
