A treacherous, 10-day rescue operation is finally just hours away from the surface of Germany's deepest cave


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Germany's Riesending cave means "massive thing" in English, and rescuers are finally nearing the surface of the abyss with an injured explorer. The extremely technical, painstakingly precise operation has lasted 10 days so far:
Iframe Code
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A rockfall badly injured Johann Westhauser, 52, on June 8, and since then, a rescue team of 15 cave specialists, along with two doctors, has been pulling him, literally inch by inch, out of the labyrinth, reports BBC News.
The team is closing in on the surface, but the operation is far from over. After resting for several hours, rescuers will tackle the final leg of the journey, peppered with waterfalls, pulleys, and vertical shafts through which they must haul Westhauser. The explorer, credited as part of a team that found the massive cave in 1995, suffered severe head and chest injuries from a rockfall while on a weekend holiday trip with two fellow climbers, both of whom are safe.
Below, images of the operation, climbing higher and higher. --Sarah Eberspacher
Iframe Code
Iframe Code
Iframe Code
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
6 vibrant homes with art studios
Feature Featuring a six-bedroom home in Vermont and a rustic-modern house in California
By The Week Staff Published
-
Experts are worried about tuberculosis again
Speed Read The deadly disease regained its crown as the world's biggest infectious killer in October 2022
By Devika Rao Published
-
The daily gossip: Beyoncé is bringing the 'Renaissance' tour to movie theaters, Taylor Swift attends another Chiefs game with famous pals, and more
Feature The daily gossip: October 2, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published