A 63-year-old speleologist has been rescued from the Abisso Paperino cave system in northern Italy after suffering a head injury approximately 40m below the surface. The incident occurred on Sunday when falling rocks struck the man while he was in the cave with team members.
Specialist emergency responders, including a medical team, reached the injured caver the same day. He received treatment inside a specially installed heated tent within the cave. While the severity of the head injury remains unclear, the man was unable to exit the cave system without assistance.
Inside Italy’s Abisso Paperino cave system
The Abisso Paperino cave system in northern Italy reaches depths of up to 154m and is approximately 1,700m long. Accessible via a dirt road, the cave begins with a 28m vertical shaft that opens into a complex labyrinth of underground galleries, shafts, and winding sections. Notable features within the system include the Cavallo Orazio chamber, the central Pozzo Vertigine shaft, and a series of fossil galleries and water-filled siphons, making it an interesting site for speleologists and cavers.
The Abisso Paperino Cave System in Northern Italy. The exact location of the injured caver within the complex underground network remains undisclosed. Photo: Catastogrotte-Piemonte
To extract the injured man from the Abisso Paperino cave system, rescue teams used controlled explosive charges to widen three critical passages. This allowed members of the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps to safely transport the man back to the surface through the narrow, challenging terrain.
Rescue teams attend to the injured caver inside the Abisso Paperino cave system. Photo: National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps
The injured speleologist’s ascent to the surface on Monday involved climbing through two vertical shafts, each approximately 15m high. Rescuers also had to navigate a complex maze of tight, winding cave passages to complete the operation successfully.
