Speleologist Luca Olmetto was pulled alive from a Sardinian cave after spending nearly 27 hours buried by a rockslide.
Olmetto, 31, of Codrongianos, a small town in the province of Sassari in northern Sardinia, was exploring the Gorropeddu cave in the province of Nuoro with his girlfriend on Oct. 11 at 2:30 p.m. When the entrance collapsed completely. His partner, who was feet behind him, managed to escape and summon help.
A rescue force of roughly 100 personnel worked through the night and into the following evening to reach him. The team included 48 members of Sardinia’s Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, 30 firefighters, and civil protection staff. Rescuers feared that heavy movement could trigger another rockslide, so they carefully removed debris by hand.
On Oct. 12, just before 6 p.m., they finally reached Olmetto, who had been trapped more than 32 feet deep. He remained conscious throughout the entire rescue operation.
“He held on until the end,” Salvatore Corrao, commander of the Nuoro fire department, told L’Unione Sarda, Sardinia’s newspaper.
“He was great. He encouraged us,” Manuela Mulargia of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps added.
Olmetto was flown by helicopter to a hospital and placed in intensive care following the accident. A statement released by the Barbagia Local Health Authority on Tuesday described his condition.
“The patient is under strict clinical monitoring in intensive care,” the authority said. “He has no fractures, but he has sustained severe blunt trauma, a crushing injury, to a lower limb.”
The town of Codrongianos expressed its collective relief on its Facebook page after learning Olmetto had been freed.
“After hours of great anxiety, the news that the entire Codrongianos was waiting for has finally arrived: Luca is out of the cave! Our fellow citizen, after being assisted in a tent, serene and calm, is now on board the ambulance,” the town posted.
“It has been a difficult hour, during which the entire community has been on edge following the rescue operations.”
The municipality also extended thanks to the rescue teams who “worked tirelessly to reach him.”
“Now Codrongianos can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” the town’s Facebook post continued. “Luca and his family deserve a hug from our entire community.”
The Gorropeddu cave collapse occurred during what began as a routine weekend exploration for the experienced speleologist and his girlfriend. The rockslide that sealed the entrance left Olmetto isolated underground with no direct communication to the surface, while his partner’s narrow escape provided the critical window for emergency response.
Olmetto remains under intensive medical observation as doctors monitor the crushing injury to his lower limb.