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| Germany caver Westhauser surfaces after Riesending rescue | Germany caver Westhauser surfaces after Riesending rescue |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An injured German caver trapped underground for 12 days has been brought to the surface after a painstaking rescue operation. | An injured German caver trapped underground for 12 days has been brought to the surface after a painstaking rescue operation. |
| Johann Westhauser, 52, was badly hurt in a rock fall on 8 June while exploring Germany's deepest cave with two other men near Austria's border. | Johann Westhauser, 52, was badly hurt in a rock fall on 8 June while exploring Germany's deepest cave with two other men near Austria's border. |
| After one of them raised the alarm, a marathon international operation was organised to recover him. | After one of them raised the alarm, a marathon international operation was organised to recover him. |
| Two doctors accompanied him during the week-long journey. | Two doctors accompanied him during the week-long journey. |
| A medical team and helicopters were waiting as he left the cave at 11:44 local time (09:44 GMT), reports said. After initial checks, he is expected to be airlifted to hospital. | A medical team and helicopters were waiting as he left the cave at 11:44 local time (09:44 GMT), reports said. After initial checks, he is expected to be airlifted to hospital. |
| The precarious operation was beset with difficulties because of the deep shafts and narrow passages in the cave, and the final 180m (600ft) vertical stretch of the rescue proved particularly hard. A motorised winch could not be used because of the potential risks to Mr Westhauser's health, and he had to be hauled up manually. | The precarious operation was beset with difficulties because of the deep shafts and narrow passages in the cave, and the final 180m (600ft) vertical stretch of the rescue proved particularly hard. A motorised winch could not be used because of the potential risks to Mr Westhauser's health, and he had to be hauled up manually. |
| The injured man was one of the explorers who in 1995 originally discovered the cave, which they named Riesending (Giant thing) because of its depth and size. | The injured man was one of the explorers who in 1995 originally discovered the cave, which they named Riesending (Giant thing) because of its depth and size. |
| He had been on a trip during the Whitsun holiday when he suffered severe head and chest injuries at least 1,000m metres underground. | |
| A test of human limits - Stephen Evans, BBC News Berlin | |
| Mr Westhauser works at the Institute for Applied Physics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, but it is not known if he went into the complex (as he has done many times before) as part of his research or as a hobby. | |
| There are sound scientific reasons to explore caves. | |
| But there are cavers, too, who do it for the thrill of going where no human may have trod before. | |
| Whatever Johann Westhauser's motive was, it has turned out to be an expensive exercise, both in terms of money but also in terms of the sweat and risk expended by the people who have pulled him out. |