Trapped and injured, he has spent a week underground.<br /><br />But Johann Westhauser is now being gently stretchered to the surface of Germany’s deepest cave in a delicate and dangerous operation.<br /><br />The 52-year-old suffered head wounds in a rock fall, 1,000 metres underground in the cave, which he himself helped to discover.<br /><br />A doctor has been able to reach him, along with other rescue workers.<br /><br />“The patient has been carried for eleven hours,” said rescue worker Stefan Schneider<br /><br />“The team is exhausted and is taking a rest. But an Italian team is expected very soon. They will take over and the trip will continue.”<br /><br />Westhauser was exploring the Riesending cave – the name means ‘massive thing’ – with two companions when the accident happened in southern Germany near Berchtesgaden by the Austrian border.<br /><br />One stayed with him. The other spent 12 hours climbing through the steep shafts and narrow tunnels to raise the alarm. <br /><br />More than 200 people from several countries are involved in the rescue effort, with teams taking it in turn to carry Westhauser to the surface, in a mission set to take several more days to complete.
