Rescuers from across Europe were called to a cave in Turkey to try to save an American researcher who was trapped almost 1,000 meters below the entrance after suffering a stomach haemorrhage.
Veteran caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly fell ill while on an expedition with a group of others, including three other Americans, to Morca Cave in the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.
Although rescue teams, including a Hungarian doctor, have reached Dickey and treated him, it could be days or even weeks before they can get him out of the cave, which is too narrow for a stretcher to fit through.
URGENT RESCUE underway: Rescuers are working to rescue an American researcher trapped 3,000 feet deep in a cave in Turkey after falling seriously ill. pic.twitter.com/nVpLDv8zX7
— CBS Evening News (@CBSeveningNews) September 7, 2023
In a video message sent from the cave and made available by the Turkish government this Thursday, Dickey thanked the caving community and Turkey for their efforts.
“The world of caving is a very close knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people responded”said Dickey, who was especially grateful for “the Turkish government’s quick response to get me the medical supplies I needed.” In my opinion it saved my life. I was very close to the edge.’
The caver, who is standing and moving in the video, said that although he is alert and talking, he is not “healed from the inside” and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. The doctors will decide whether he will have to leave the cave on a stretcher or whether he will be able to leave on his own.
Dickey, who was bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, stopped vomiting and ate for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey (US) cave rescue group he is associated with.
The cave is also quite cold (four to six degrees Celsius) and communication with the caver takes about five to seven hours.
Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Turkish Speleological Federation said one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening narrow cave passages so that stretchers can pass through at shallow depths.
Stretcher handles are difficult to handle and require experienced rescuers who work long hours, Ogrenecek said.
The doctors will decide whether he will have to leave the cave on a stretcher or whether he will be able to leave on his own.
The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics treating Mark Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take two to three weeks.
The operation involves rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
Mark Dickey was described by the association as “a highly skilled caver and a cave rescuer himself”, known as an underground explorer or caver, due to his participation in many international expeditions.
The researcher was on an expedition mapping the Morca cave system, 1,276 meters deep, for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association.
Rescue teams hope the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. The cave is divided into several sections and each section will be managed by a rescue team from each country involved.
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, arrived first at the caver’s location and performed emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.
Source: DN
