RABAT
A Spanish spelunker rescued Saturday after spending several days trapped at the bottom of a 400-meter cliff in central Morocco's High Atlas Mountains is in stable condition, a medical official said Monday.
"Juan Bolivar's condition is not worrying. He is now hospitalized in Chifa Ouarzazate Clinic in stable condition," Health Ministry official Khaled Salmi told The Anadolu Agency.
Bolivar and two colleagues fell off the cliff in Ouarzazate. While Bolivar survived the fall, his two colleagues were not as lucky.
"He will stay in hospital for three days until he recovers from fatigue and bruising after spending five days at the bottom of the ravine," Salmi told AA, noting that he was being treated by a Moroccan medical team.
On Saturday, Moroccan rescue workers managed to ascertain the lost trio's location after the men went missing under a cliff in the Tarmast region on the outskirts of Ouarzazate city.
According to local officials, the snow-covered, mountainous terrain – along with the fact that the three fell off a 400-meter-high cliff – complicated search and rescue efforts.
One of the three was found dead while the other two received first aid on the spot before being transferred to a hospital.
Spelunker Antonio Martinez, however, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
The trio – two policemen and a lawyer – had been part of a group of nine spelunkers who had travelled to Morocco from the southern Spanish city of Seville for vacation.
Soon after their arrival in Ouarzazate, the three parted from the rest of their group, who they agreed to meet up with again on Tuesday.
When they failed to show up at the appointed time, however, the leader of the group reported their absence to the Moroccan authorities.
Moroccan rescue workers eventually tracked the three men down on Saturday, finding them at the bottom of a cliff in Ouarzazate.
