Last Update: April 15, 2023, 03:22 IST
In this screen grab from a handout video, on April 14, 2023, Spanish climber Beatriz Flamini, who was isolated in a cave in southern Spain for 500 days, exits the cave and greets teammates in Motril, Spain He is seen hugging. (Forta/Handout via Reuters)
Elite climber Beatriz Flamini told reporters that time had passed and she did not want to come out
A 50-year-old Spanish extreme athlete emerged on Friday from a 500-day challenge living 70 meters (230 feet) deep in a cave outside Granada with minimal contact with the outside.
Wearing dark glasses and smiling as she adjusted to the spring light in southern Spain, elite climber Beatriz Flamini told reporters that time had passed and she did not want to come out.
“When they came to pick me up, I was sleeping. I felt something happened. I said: ‘Already? Not sure. I hadn’t finished my book,” she said.
Flamini’s support team said he broke the world record for longest stay in a cave in an experiment monitored by scientists studying the human mind and circadian rhythm.
She was 48 when she caved in, having celebrated two birthdays alone underground.
Flamini launched his challenge on Saturday, November 20, 2021 – before the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the end of the Covid mask requirement in Spain and the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
She came out for eight days, her team revealed, but remained isolated in a tent waiting for repairs to a router that sent audio and video to let her team know how she was doing.
On Friday, he was greeted by a swarm of cameras and his support team, who hugged him.
Asked if he ever thought about hitting the panic button or leaving the cave, he replied: “Never. In fact I didn’t want to come out.
knitting and reading
Flamini spent his time underground practicing painting and drawing and knitting woolen hats. According to his support team, he took two GoPro cameras to document his time there, and received 60 books and 1,000 liters of water.
She said she started her challenge while trying to keep track of time. “On day 65 I stopped counting and lost perception of time,” she said.
There were difficult moments – such as when the cave was invaded by flies – and some “beautiful”, she said. “If it’s your dream, and you’re feeling it, why are you crying?”
She said she focused on maintaining “coherence”, eating well and enjoying the silence. She looked forward to treats like avocados, fresh eggs and clean T-shirts, which her support team sent “like a god” before she even took out her trash.
“I didn’t talk to myself out loud, but I did have internal conversations and talked to myself very well,” she joked.
“You have to be mindful of your emotions. If you’re scared, that’s natural, but never let panic or you become paralyzed.
She said her team had been told not to contact her under any circumstances, even regarding a family death. “If it’s no communication then it’s no communication regardless of the circumstances. People who know me knew and respected him.
Flamini was monitored by a group of psychologists, researchers, cave experts and physical trainers trying to learn how social isolation and disorientation might affect timing, brain patterns and sleep.
She was waiting in the shower and sharing a plate of scrambled eggs and chips with friends. She said she would put herself in the hands of doctors to study the effects on her body and mind before planning new mountaineering and caving projects.
The Guinness Book of Records website awarded the “longest time trapped underground” award to 33 Chilean and Bolivian miners, who spent 69 days trapped 688 meters (2,257 ft) in 2010.
A spokesperson for Guinness was not immediately able to confirm whether there was a separate record for voluntary time lived in a cave and whether Flamini had broken it.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
