Spanish athlete resurfaces after 500 days underground

A Spanish extreme sportswoman returned to the open air on Friday morning after more than 500 days in a natural cave, completely cut off from the world at a depth of 70 meters, describing the experience as “great” and “incomparable” … despite the invasion of flies.

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“For a year and a half I didn’t talk to anyone, I was alone with myself,” 50-year-old Beatriz Flamini told a press conference in Motril, a small town in the south of Andalusia (southern part of Spain). , near the beach.

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From November 21, 2021, i.e. 510 days, she came out of a cave 10 km away, about two hours ago, with the help of speleologists, for a scientific experiment. Assess the physical and mental impact of total isolation and loss of time markers.

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Beatrice Flamini apologized several times for her difficulty finding words, explaining that she had only books, artificial light and cameras to record her experience, but no phone or device to know the time of year or day.

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“There are many challenges like this, but nothing with all these characteristics: alone and completely isolated, without contact with the outside, without (natural) light, not to mention time,” commented David Reiss, member of the Andalusian Federation of Speleology, responsible for the protection of Flamini.

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Spain’s Tourism Minister Hector Gomez praised the athlete’s performance in an interview with Spanish public television (TVE), describing it as an “expression of radical resistance”.

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According to the Spanish press, this would be the world record for the longest time spent underground in this category.