Mexico ? Mexican rescuers pulled an injured French cave explorer to safety early Saturday, working in a passageway so narrow they sometimes had to remove him from a stretcher and carry the man in their hands.

Capping a grueling four-day rescue effort, emergency workers pulled Arthur Meauxone, 21, dirty but conscious, from the Cuaxuspan cave in central Puebla state, where he had been trapped since Wednesday.

Meauxone apparently suffered a fall and a broken bone in the mishap, but there were no immediate details on the extent of his injuries, which did not appear life-threatening; rescuers wrapped him in a thermal blanket, gave him initial treatment in a tent near the mouth of the cave, and carried him to a waiting ambulance.

The injured spelunker appeared alert and upbeat as he was carried away. Five other members of the expedition managed to leave the cave shortly after the accident.