Italian spelunker rescued after 2 days trapped in cave

ROME – An Italian spelunker has been rescued after two days trapped in a grotto beneath an Alpine glacier near the northeastern border with Slovenia.

The news agency ANSA says 33-year-old Stefano Guarniero was strapped to a stretcher and pulled from the cave 200 metres (650 feet) below the surface after rescuers drilled a hole into the side of the mountain.

Officials from Italy’s civil protection agency said Guarniero was injured when he fell about 17 metres (55 feet) on Saturday while exploring a cave beneath a glacier at an altitude of around 2,200 metres (7,200 feet).

Others in the party alerted authorities. Guarniero was then reached by a rescue team, nurse and doctor who stayed with him until the hole was large enough to bring through a stretcher.