EMERGENCY RESPONSES OF THE CAVE RESCUE SERVICE OF SLOVENIA IN 2016 AND THE RESCUE OPERATION FROM THE PRIMADONA CAVE

Abstract

The paper offers a short description of the different rescue emergency responses of the Slovene Speleological Association in 2016. It provides a detailed description of the rescue of an English speleologist who got injured in the Primadona cave, at a difficult-to-access location under the Tolmin Migovec Mountain, at the depth of approximately 250 metres in July 2016. For purposes of this rescue operation, the entire Cave Rescue Service of Slovenia was activated, as well as the Mountain Rescue Station Tolmin, and the 15^th Helicopter Battalion of the Slovenian Armed Forces to help with the transportation. The rescue operation was extremely challenging, since the cave is cold and has a number of narrow passages hindering the transportation of the speleologist with an injured spine. During the emergency response, certain narrow parts of the cave had to be widened. This was successfully done by the Team responsible for widening the narrow passages at the Cave Rescue Service of Slovenia.