Belej (Italian: , ) is a village on the Croatian island of Cres, in Primorje-Gorski Kotar. Administratively, it is part of the town of Mali Loà ¡inj. As of 2021, it had a population of 40. It is connected by the D100 highway.
In the summer of 2019, the fire department JVP Grada Mali Loà ¡inj saved a young caver who was stuck 9 below ground in a cave near Srem, a hamlet of Belej. At 18:00, the HGSS branch in Loà ¡inj received a call about a 17 year old caver, "Luka", who had become lodged in the narrow passage at the end of Nenad Buzjak and Suzana Fielder's 3 April 1977 map of the cave Spilja kod Srema (HR01994). Because of the risk of carbon dioxide buildup, the fire department of Mali Loà ¡inj was called in to provide oxygen during the rescue effort, so they sent Branko Vojnikoviàand David Badurina, who by chance met up with their colleague Saà ¡a MandiÃÂ, an experienced diver who fortuitously brought diving equipment with him. The HGSS arrived first and tried to extract him to no avail. MandiÃÂ, the author of the report and GSS member Marko à ½upanÃÂiàentered the cave, mounting the SCBA apparatus to the diving equipment Mandiàhad brought because the narrows would not permit a regular mask. The final was passed only by MandiÃÂ, pushing the apparatus in front of him. Only Luka's feet and part of his hips were visible, and MandiÃÂ's sensor showed critically dangerous concentrations. Luka had been there several hours, but was still cogent. Mandiàdecided the only way to free him was to widen the part of the passage above Luka's back, which he then did with his Pulaski. Luka was then able to extract himself, slowly, after which Mandiàadministered oxygen and the two crawled back to where Vojnikoviàhad left them.