A 31-year-old man has been pulled alive from a cave on the Italian island of Sardinia after being trapped for 26 hours following a rockslide. Luca Olmetto was rescued from the Gorroppeddu cave in the Urzulei mountain range, roughly 10 metres below ground.
Mr Olmetto became trapped on Sunday afternoon while exploring the cave with his girlfriend, who managed to escape unharmed and raise the alarm. Rescuers worked non-stop in a complex operation, manually removing rubble and earth to reach him by late Monday afternoon.
He was brought to the surface just after 6pm CET, stabilised by medical staff, and then airlifted to hospital. The rescue operation involved approximately 48 experts from Sardinia’s Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, 30 firefighters, and civil protection staff.