An effort to rescue an injured man from a remote cave on Tasmania’s West Coast has been underway since late yesterday.

The 62-year-old Ulverstone man was caving near Mount Cripps with friends, two of whom hiked to an area of phone service to raise the alarm after the man fell and injured himself resulting in him being unable to ascend to the surface.

A joint search and rescue effort involving Ambulance Tasmania, Police, SES, and the Northern Caverneers Caving Club was launched and, despite difficult terrain and weather, reached the caves in the early hours of this morning. Rescue teams descended and located the man who is in a stable condition.

“The cave system is narrow and otherwise has features difficult to traverse. This has made bringing the man up from underground safely a slow and complex operation” said Senior Sergeant Adam Spencer of West Coast Police. “He is constantly being monitored by Ambulance Tasmania, we are making ground and hope to have him on the surface soon.”