Bavarian Mountain Rescue said on Wednesday morning that a rescue team, carrying cave researcher Johann Westhauser to safety from 1,000 metres underground in Germany’s deepest cave, was approaching the final stop before they make the last push to daylight-
The 52-year-old suffered a head injury last Sunday in a rock fall in the Riesending cave in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden and is being transported on a stretcher attached to rope and pulleys.
Rescuers hope to reach the last stage before the exit to the cave on Wednesday. From there they will be 400 metres from the surface and could be out by the end of the week.
Westhauser, who works at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, is being treated by a paramedic and two doctors from Austria and Italy. “They will carry out any medical checks to prepare the patient for the final stage,” the mountain rescue spokesman said.
PHOTO GALLERY: Rescue operation in Germany's biggest cave
The rescue team has made better than expected progress but the spokesman warned against early euphoria. “The rescuers have stopped and are going extremely slowly in this section of the passage to avoid rock falls,” he said.
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