Rescuers work to free an injured cave explorer trapped more than 130 feet underground in Italy

This photo, provided on Monday, July 21, 2025, by the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, shows rescue operations outside the cave where a 62-year-old speleologist became trapped on Sunday. (National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps via AP)

MILAN (AP) — Rescuers on Monday freed a cave explorer who was injured by falling rocks some 40 meters (more than 130 feet) below the surface in Italy's northwestern Piedmont region while on an outing with friends, according to Italy's mountain rescue corps.

The 63-year-old man, who sustained a head injury, was brought to the surface by crews who used explosives to widen the cave at key junctures. They also passed through two 15-meter (49-foot) vertical shafts and a series of narrow winding passages.

Medical teams reached the injured man after the accident on Sunday and treated him inside a heated tent while the path out was being cleared. He remained in good condition.

The incident occurred in the Abisso Paperino cave system, which extends 170 meters (560 feet) underground near the town of Ormea in Cuneo province.

The Associated Press