Ottavia Piana, 32, was trapped in an exploratory area of the ‘Abisso Bueno Fonteno’ cave last Saturday afternoon.
Ottavia Piana, the caver who was stuck in a cave in the Bergamo area, has been rescued. At 2.59 a.m. rescuers reached the exit, together with the stretcher on which the woman had been placed.
Piana had been injured in an exploratory area of the ‘Abisso Bueno Fonteno’ cave last Saturday afternoon. The woman was constantly monitored and assisted by a total of 6 doctors and 8 nurses from the Alpine and Speleological Rescue Service.
Rescue operation lasting 75 hours
The rescue operation began at midnight on 15 December and was completed ahead of schedule. The rescue operation involved 159 technicians of the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico from 13 Italian regions. The synergy between the various teams that took turns during the mission, which lasted uninterruptedly for 75 hours, was fundamental to the success of the operation.
It was Ottavia Piana herself who encouraged her rescuers: “In the last stretch, she gave us the charge,” said Corrado Camerini, the Lombardy delegate. The last stretch was covered faster than planned, thanks to the previously unconstructed stretches and to the sanitary staff’s assessment to avoid prolonged stops.
“Our aim is to do our job with results: the response from the Soccorso alpino is what we expected. Our mountain rescue service is among the most effective in Europe and this also proved it,” Camerini continued.
Ottavia’s family also arrived in Fonteno.
The speleologist’s condition is stable
The condition of the woman – who suffered trauma to her vertebrae and ribs, fractures to her facial bones and a knee – is stable.
Once she came out of the cave, the stretcher was transferred by the Alpine and Speleological Rescue teams to an area where the fire brigade had set up a suitable point for helicopter rescue by means of a winch. Taken over by the Areu 118 helicopter, the speleologist was transported to Bergamo Hospital.
