An emergency team said they had rescued an injured Italian caver trapped underground for four days - the second time the woman has had to be carried out of the same cave.
Ottavia Piana, 32, was lifted out of the cave in northern Italy in the early hours of this morning, the Alpine rescue service said.
She had suffered injuries to her back and ribs and also has suspected fractures to facial bones and a knee after she fell around 8m in the Abisso Bueno Fonteno cave network on Saturday.
In all, 159 rescuers "from 13 Italian regions" were mobilised to help pull Ms Piana from the cave, said the rescue team.
"At 2.59am the rescuers reached the exit" of the cave, carrying Ms Piana out on a stretcher, they added.
Rescuers said she was conscious but tired and clearly in pain when brought up to the surface after being trapped some 4km from the cave entrance.
Federico Catania, from the mountain and cave rescue group CNSAS, said the operation had ended more quickly than feared thanks in part to specialist teams who used small charges of explosive to clear obstructions.
"The speleologist (cave explorer) also did her part, demonstrating great resilience. Previously we had often stopped for medical breaks, to allow her to rest, but in the last hours she was able to hold out," he told RTL 102.5 radio.
Ms Piana was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the northern town of Bergamo.
Rescuers needed four days to extract her from the cave because the crevice she had fallen into was too tight for the stretcher.
Six doctors and eight nurses were amongst the rescuers. Among them was Leonardo Sattin, a doctor who was part of the rescue team that had pulled Ms Piana from the same cave a year and half earlier when she broke her leg.
"Doctor, we know each other," Ms Piana told Dr Sattin, according to a report in the Corriere della Serra daily.
One rescuer told the daily that they had shown Ms Piana "messages from her friends" to keep up her spirits during the ordeal.
Ms Piana, who is an experienced speleologist, suffered a similar ordeal in July 2023 when she was trapped in the same cave network for around 40 hours after another accident.
Her second rescue in less than 18 months has sparked some criticism in Italy but Mr Catania refused to join those who have accused Ms Piana of recklessness, saying she had the right equipment and knowledge to explore the caves again.
"We can perhaps judge when it is inexperienced behaviour, but this does not apply in this case," he said.
"I can say that this was an unfortunate situation."
