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Injured caver Michael Brewer has been moved about two thirds of the way out of the Nelson caving network he has been trapped in for 48 hours.
Rescuers hope he will reach the surface later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
Dr Brewer, a Nelson GP, was one of four cavers exploring and surveying the Green Link/Middle Earth cave system on the Takaka Hill, near Nelson, when he was hit by falling rocks about 5pm on Saturday.
Two cavers went and raised the alarm while another remained with 47-year-old Dr Brewer, an experienced caver.
Dr Brewer had suffered suspected cracked ribs, concussion, and a broken pelvis in the incident, which happened about 3km into the caving system - a distance which usually takes about five hours to travel.
Search and rescue co-ordinator Inspector Hugh Flower said about 44 cavers were helping with the rescue effort, which involved slowly moving Dr Brewer from hand to hand.
Rescuers were using ropes and rigging equipment to "squeeze" Dr Brewer through the complex cave system.
Mr Flower said they went into the caves with a stretcher, but would not be able to use it at some points on their way out because of the "tight squeezes" and vertical pitches.
Progress was "slow but steady" as the rescue team negotiated the system.
The rescue effort was pausing from time to time to give the injured man a rest, as it was hard on him, Mr Flower said.
Mr Flower said the rescue effort had been going well, and Dr Brewer had been transported through one of the tightest sections in the system.
Dr Brewer had been given pain relief and was doing well, even directing the cavers at points along the journey, he said.
A caver with 20 years' experience in Takaka and on the West Coast, Dr Brewer has himself been involved in every cave rescue in the region in recent years.
His wife Sarah was also a caver, and usually helped with search and rescues in the area.
For this rescue, however, she was remaining on the surface with the couple's two teenage daughters.
Dr Brewer has been in communication with his wife and daughters via a "michie" phone, a special underground communications device frequently used in cave rescues.
- NZPA
