Sardinia, speleologist stuck in cave: race against time, entrance freed from boulders

Ten meters of rock. It is the distance that separates Luca Olmetto from the open air. The 31-year-old speleologist, originally from Sassari, has been trapped for sixteen hours in the Gorropeddu cave, a little-known cavity in the territory of Urzulei, in Ogliastra. At the entrance, the vault gave way. The collapsed material closed the only way out and he remained inside.

The alarm was raised by the expedition companion who together with Olmetto was exploring the cave in the Urzulei area. The woman managed to get out before the collapse and thus alert the rescuers yesterday.

Simone Alessandrini, communication manager of the alpine and speleological rescue, explains to Repubblica that "it is an exploration cave. Essentially the presence of the cave and the entrance are known, but the exit is not always known. If they were in those caves, they were speleologists with experience behind them. The cause of the collapse is not known. For now both the alpine and speleological rescue and the firefighters, jointly, have been doing a great job all night to try to recover it. First it must be put into operation secure the scene, then we need to unblock and free it in order to recover the trapped person. Luca is conscious, in contact with the doctors, we cannot physically pass water or anything else, but we know that he is blocked by various debris".

This cave "never explored, probably wanted to be mapped, or analyzed for scientific reasons, by speleologists. The timing to save it? Complex. The environment is very delicate, complications from further collapses must be avoided. The area is difficult to reach: in general, for rescues of this type, it could take several hours, sometimes as has already happened even days. We must have patience and trust in the work of the rescuers".

Since the alarm was raised, the rescue services have not stopped: they worked all night and continue to do so this morning. The teams involved in the operations, who are digging to free a safe passage, managed to speak directly with the speleologist, confirming that the man is alive, conscious and able to communicate, an element that fuels the hope of a positive conclusion to the intervention.

A base camp has been set up on site and an impressive rescue device has been deployed: dozens of specialists from the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, supported by the firefighters, as mentioned, are working tirelessly.