Slovenia: Speleologist falls into a 150-meter deep pit, rescued 18 hours later

(Patria) - A speleologist who fell into a pit on Jelenovo brdo in the Gotenica area and sustained injuries was rescued after 18 hours from a depth of 150 meters, Slovenian media report.

Rescuers from across the country took part in the operation.

The speleologist fell into the pit on Wednesday afternoon and sustained injuries to his ribs and a joint, but is not in life-threatening condition.

The rescue operation continued through the night using the rescuers' headlamps. According to reports, they had to crawl through narrow passages of the pit, clearing the way with hammers and drills.

Although rescue teams reached the injured speleologist during the night, they were unable to bring him to the surface by morning because he periodically felt unwell, so the rescuers waited to lift him out.