 Rescue of the patient inside the "Riesending" | |
| Date | 8 June 2014 to 19 June 2014 |
|---|---|
| Location | Riesending cave |
| Coordinates | 47°41′58″N 12°58′59″E / 47.6994°N 12.9831°E |
| Cause | Rockfall |
| Participants | German speleologist Johann Westhauser and two colleagues, more than 700 rescue personnel |
| Outcome | Successful rescue with full recovery |
A rescue occurred at Riesending cave between 8–19 June 2014, in Bavaria, Germany, after a speleologist who had been exploring the cave in a group of three suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a rockfall. It became one of the largest cave rescues in history, involving more than 700 people for 11 days and an estimated cost of close to €1 million. The rescue left more than one ton of garbage inside the cave, which took six years to retrieve and dispose.