Speleologists Rescue Suspended

[Lynn]

RESCUE OPERATIONS TO SAVE 4 SPELEOLOGISTS SUSPENDED

(AGI) - Trieste, Feb. 22 - Four speleologists belonging to Trieste's mountain rescue team is waiting for weather conditions to improve before entering the cave of Bila Pec, in mountain Canin, to rescue the four Hungarian men who are still trapped down there. Rescue operations, coordinated by the chief of the mountain rescue team of Sella Nevea, Renato Palmieri, have been temporarily suspended due to a thick fog which prevents the helicopter of the Civil Protection from taking off. Indeed, altitude visibility is less than two metres and there is a risk of further avalanches. The team of speleologists is supposed to move down some 200-300 metres inside mount Canin (whose maximum depth is 800 metres) to find the Hungarian colleagues who were expected to come back on Friday evening or, at latest, on Saturday morning. It is extremely important to find them as soon as possible to prevent them from making the same mistake as their mates who, once out of the cave, started walking towards Sella Nevea and were killed by an avalanche. Meanwhile the bodies of the two dead speleologists were moved to Tarvisio's morgue and judicial authorities have started an inquiry into the tragedy. The third man, who survived the avalanche and other three colleagues who left the cave of Bila Pec some days ago have already travelled back to Hungary. The tragedy is to be blamed on lack of adequate precautions on the part of the victims. 'Nevertheless, we can't prevent those who want to enter such caves also during the winter from doing so. There are no regulations in force which can forbid people from carrying out their explorations in the mountains" said finance police officer Paolo Berra. "People should be able to assess the extent of the risk they are faced with" he added. Avalanches have already killed several people in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. At least 4,000 avalanches are reported in this region each year and 8,000 sites are considered dangerous. In the last decade, 2 people have been killed by avalanches on average each year.
(AGI) - FEB 06
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