Aug. 12
ROME: Rescue workers pulled a cave explorer out alive Sunday from a mountain grotto in northwestern Italy, four days after he broke his ankle and became trapped underground, news reports said.
RAI state television showed Igor Lelevic, 43, of Karlovac, Croatia, being hoisted out of the cave on a stretcher to the cheers of the estimated 200 workers who worked to free him. Wrapped in heat-conducting blankets, he was immediately flown by a waiting helicopter to a nearby hospital.
Lelevic broke his ankle, dislocated his shoulder and gashed his leg Wednesday while exploring the Piaggia Bella cave in Cuneo, in the Maritime Alps near Italy's border with France, the ANSA news agency said.
While he remained trapped because of his injuries, doctors were able to reach him and provided first aid at the scene until rescue crews cleared a path out large enough for the stretcher, ANSA said.
<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/12/europe/EU-GEN-Italy-Cave-Rescue.php">Source</a>