An American scientist who remained trapped in a Turkish cave after becoming ill has started to be rescued. Just before 3:30 p.m. local time, a crew located Mark Dickey, 40, and began escorting him out of the cave on a stretcher, the Turkish Caving Federation reported in a post on the social networking network X on Saturday.
Before Dickey reaches the surface, it can take days. Rescuers are preparing for the possibility that he will need to rest at camps erected along the routes.
The operation to evacuate him from the location at 1040 meters to the camp at 700 meters started this afternoon, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, which spoke to The Associated Press.
Mark's transport in a stretcher has started at 15:28 local time (GMT+3) pic.twitter.com/H1eNrvohQ7
— Türkiye Mağaracılık Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 9, 2023
Dickey has been trapped inside the 3,000-foot-deep Morca cave since September 2 due to intestinal hemorrhage. He fell ill while traveling abroad to map the cave, which is the third-deepest in the nation. He can’t climb out by himself.
In a video message earlier this week, Dickey, a seasoned caver from New Jersey, stated that he was “doing well.”
He remarked, “I look toward working with everybody to safely get me out with their help.” As you can see, I’m awake and speaking, but my inside wounds are still open, so I’m going to need a lot of assistance to leave this place.
Dickey traveled with his fiancée, Jessica, who is a caver. She would leave the cave before his rescue, according to Thursday’s statement from Carl Heitmeyer, the New Jersey First Response Team’s public relations officer.
Dickey was freed with the aid of rescuers from Europe. On September 3, a Hungarian physician treated him by giving him IV fluids and 4 liters of blood, according to authorities. Teams that include numerous medics have alternated with him staying within the cave.
According to the Turkish Caving Federation, who is assisting in the rescue, the cave, located in the Taurus Mountains in the southern portion of Turkey, is over 4,100 feet deep, has a number of locations that call for a rappel, and has small passageways.