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       Italian rescuers have successfully freed a 63-year-old cave explorer who was injured by falling rocks some 40 metres (more than 130 feet) below the surface.

       The man, who sustained a head injury during the incident in the northwestern Piedmont region, was brought to the surface on Monday by crews who resorted to using explosives to widen the cave at key junctures.

       Their ascent also involved navigating two 15-metre (49-foot) vertical shafts and a series of narrow, winding passages.

       Medical teams had reached the injured man after the accident on Sunday.

       They treated him inside a heated tent while the exit path was being cleared.

       He remained in good condition throughout the ordeal, they said.

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       A rescuer is lowered into the cave ( National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps )

       The man was reportedly a speleologist – a scientist who studies caves.

       The field encompasses the study of cave and rock formations, hydrology (the movement and distribution of water), and cave ecosystems.

       The incident occurred in the Abisso Paperino cave system, which extends 170 metres (560 feet) underground near the town of Ormea in Cuneo province, according to Italy's mountain rescue corps.