American explorer trapped in Turkey cave now halfway to escape as rescue continues – latest
Rescue teams in Turkey have successfully carried American researcher Mark Dickey up from the depth of a cave at 3,410 feet (1,040m) halfway to the surface.
“Our medical team is working really hard to try to keep Mark’s condition as stable as possible. Since yesterday, we started lifting the stretcher and transporting him through the cave. We have to do it very carefully because we cannot risk any conditions worsening (for) Mark. So we must pay attention metre after metre. Currently, the stretcher is about ... 500 metres from the surface,” according to European Cave Rescue Association official Giuseppe Conti.
Rescue teams are using explosives to blast open passages of the cave to safely extract Mr Dickey via a stretcher.
The well-known speleologist became trapped inside the Morca cave last Saturday, after suffering from bleeding in the digestive tract. An international team of cave rescuers and medical personnel had been working to stabilise the cave expert before launching the operation,
Earlier, it was estimated that the “difficult operation” would last at least three-four days, with an official fromTurkey’s disaster relief agency noting it would take a healthy person 16 hours to exit.
Key Points
Rescue operation to save American trapped in Turkey cave underway
Here’s what we know about the cave rescue mission so far
Mark Dickey’s condition ‘continues to improve’
A look into the depth of the Morca cave
Mark Dickey rescue in photos
19:51 , Bevan Hurley
A rescue effort is underway to bring stranded US researcher Mark Dickey to safety from one of the deepest caves in Turkey.
Here are a few of the dramatic images to emerge from the early stages of the mission.
How will American cave explorer be rescued?
18:32 , Bevan Hurley
An operation to rescue Mark Dickey has brought the American researcher up to a depth of 2,300-feet (700m) below the ground.
A team consisting of doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers began to bring Mr Dickey back to the surface after he fell ill in the Turkish cave began on Saturday afternoon.
“Mark was delivered to the campsite at -700 meters as of 03:24 local time (GMT+3). At this stage, he will set out again after resting and having the necessary treatments,” the Speleological Federation of Turkey wrote on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The rescue team set off on the next leg of the mission to bring Mr Dickey to 500m below ground level on Sunday morning.
TSİ 9:55 itibariyle Mark -500 metredeki bir sonraki kampa doğru sedye ile yola çıktı. #MarkDickey #caverescue #MorcaRescue #mağarakurtarma #Morca @AFADBaskanlik pic.twitter.com/Xhh0PWNZo8
— Türkiye Mağaracılık Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 10, 2023
Rescue mission to save stricken cave researcher reaches 700m
17:25 , Bevan Hurley
Rescue teams on Sunday in Turkey successfully carried an American researcher up from the depth of a cave at 1040 meters (3412.07 feet) to the 700-meter (2296.59 feet) mark, according to an Associated Press report on Sunday.
The rescuers will rest at a camp at that depth before they continue the taxing journey to the surface, the AP wrote.
The team of experienced cavers and medics have set up base camps at various levels along the shaft, providing Dickey an opportunity to rest during the slow and arduous extrication.
Full story below.
Operation to extract American researcher from one of the world's deepest caves advances to 700m
What is a speleologist?
16:25 , Bevan Hurley
In simple terms, a Speleologist studies all aspects of caves including their geology, biology, hydrology, and history, according to Start Caving.com.
Speleologists often research how the cave is formed and how It changes – this is known as speleogenesis and speleomorphology.
“Speleology is an interdisciplinary field that combines a lot of scientific skills,” Start Caving says.
The Independent’s Faiza Saqib has more.
Evacuation underway for US researcher Mark Dickey
14:58 , Bevan Hurley
Rescue teams have begun a rescue mission for US researcher Mark Dickey who became seriously ill while he was 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the entrance of a cave in Turkey, officials say.
“This afternoon, the operation to move him from his camp at 1040 meters to the camp at 700 meters began,” Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, AFAD, told The Associated Press.
The mission is expected to take three to four days.
The 40-year-old experienced caver began vomiting on Sept. 2 because of stomach bleeding while on an expedition with a handful of others in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.
190 rescuers
12:10 , Chris Stevenson
Turkish authorities said there are 190 personnel from eight countries taking part in the rescue of Mark Dickey, 153 of them search and rescue experts.
The most challenging part of the rescue operation is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths, Yusuf Ogrenecek of the speleological federation said.
The extraction is expected to take up to 10 days depending on Mr Dickey’s condition.
Caver lifted to 700 metres
11:36 , Chris Stevenson
Rescue teams in Turkey have successfully carried an American researcher up from the depth of a cave at 3,410 feet (1,040m) to the 2,300 feet (700m) mark where he will rest at a base camp before they continue the taxing journey to the surface.
“Mark [Dickey] was delivered to the campsite at -700 meters as of 03:24 local time (GMT+3). At this stage, he will set out again after resting and having the necessary treatments,” the Speleological Federation of Turkey wrote on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
An international effort
11:21 , Chris Stevenson
Rescue teams from Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria Hungary, Poland and Croatia have been placed throughout different checkpoints in the cave as the operation to evacuate Mark Dickey
Images of the rescue
10:57 , Chris Stevenson
Here are some of the latest images of the rescue:
How will American cave explorer be rescued?
10:34 , Chris Stevenson
Tulga Sener, the head of the rescue commission medical unit, told Reuters that Mr Dickey’s health condition was stable and his vital signs normal, adding that three doctors would attend to him on his way up.
It is believed that Mr Dickey will have to take significant rest at frequent points on the way out.
Explosives will need to be used to expand some of the more narrow points of the cave to allow safe passage said Recep Salci, the head of search and rescue for AFAD, with the aim of bringing Mr Dickey up on a stretcher.
Rescuers will use a “security belt” system to lift him through the cave’s narrowest openings.
“Our aim is to bring him out and to have him hospitalised as soon as possible,” Mr Salci said.
Narrow passages cause problems
10:06 , Chris Stevenson
“This is a vertical cave with a lot of water,” Agnes Berentes, a photographer with Mark Dickey on the mission, told Reuters.
“We have to use our vertical rope techniques. And it has a lot of narrow passages. This will be the hardest part of the areas of the rescue,” she said.
Explorer’s condition ‘fragile but stable'
09:44 , Chris Stevenson
The trapped explorer Mark Dickey’s condition is “stable but fragile,” Carl Heitmeyer, acting public information officer for the New Jersey Initial Response Team, said in an emailed statement.
The cave, difficult, deep and muddy, is “very much eating up rescuers’ gear,” he added, meaning that an already arduous rescue is taking time.
Explorer ‘out within days'
09:20 , Chris Stevenson
Rescuers will have the trapped explorer Mark Dickey out "within several days," Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan has said.
Mr Dickey, 40, was on an international exploration mission in the Morca cave in Mersin province's Taurus mountains when he began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding at a depth of 1,040 metres (3,400ft)
More than 150 rescuers from Turkey and other nations have been working to save him from the country's third deepest cave.
"Depending on the developments at the stations in between, hopefully the evacuation will have been completed within several days," Mr Pehlivan told reporters.
Recap: American researchers shares emotional message from ‘nearly a 1000m’
03:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
Mark Dickey recorded a video message that was released by Turkish authorities late on Thursday.
“Hi, I’m Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand metres,” Mr Dickey said in the message, dressed in a red puffer jacket and using a headlamp.
“As you can see, I’m up, I’m alert, I’m talking. But I’m not healed on the inside yet, so I’m going to need a lot of help to get out of here,” he added.
“The caving world is a really tight-knit group, and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” Mr Dickey said in the video. “I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life.
“I was very close to the edge.”
How will American cave explorer be rescued?
01:00 , Chris Stevenson
Tulga Sener, the head of the rescue commission medical unit, told Reuters that Mr Dickey’s health condition was stable and his vital signs normal, adding that three doctors would attend to him on his way up.
It is believed that Mr Dickey will have to take significant rest at frequent points on the way out.
Explosives will need to be used to expand some of the more narrow points of the cave to allow safe passage said Recep Salci, the head of search and rescue for AFAD, with the aim of bringing Mr Dickey up on a stretcher.
Rescuers will use a “security belt” system to lift him through the cave’s narrowest openings.
“Our aim is to bring him out and to have him hospitalised as soon as possible,” Mr Salci said.
What are some of the main challenges to the rescue operation?
Saturday 9 September 2023 23:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Yusuf Ogrenecek, of the Speleological Federation of Turkey, told the Associated Press that one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths.
“Stretcher lines are labour intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours,” Mr Ogrenecek said, adding that other difficult factors range from navigating through mud and water at low temperatures to the psychological toll of staying inside a cave for long periods of time.
Earlier on Saturday, The New York Times reported rescuers were using explosives to widen parts of the narrow Morca cave so that Mr Dickey can be safely extracted via a stretcher.
In Rome, Federico Catania, the spokesman for Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue, described the cave as one of the deepest in the world.
“The cave is made up of many vertical shafts, so many sections that are extremely vertical with few horizontal sections where (the) rescuers are setting up temporary camps,” he said.
Trapped American explorer in ‘stable condition’ as rescue operation begins
Saturday 9 September 2023 21:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Mark Dickey has been in a stable condition as of Friday, officials in Turkey said as the rescue operation to safely extract the American researcher from the depths of a Turkish cave gets underway.
Mr Dickey is currently trapped in the Morca cave, located near Anamur in the south of Turkey, after he became seriously ill during an expedition last Saturday.
However, the 40-year-old American cave explorer has been receiving medical support and his condition is “getting better”, the governor of Mersin Ali Hamza Pehlivan told media on Saturday.
“There are 190 personnel from eight countries assisting in the rescue effort, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers,” Mr Pehlivan said.
He added that 153 of them were search and rescue experts.
“We have received information that his condition is getting better, thanks to medical intervention. He has been in stable condition as of yesterday,” he added.
New pictures show rescuers near the entrance of Morca cave
Saturday 9 September 2023 20:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
We now have new pictures, coming in from Anamur in Mersin province in Turkey, where a massive rescue operation to rescue Mark Dickey has begun.
Mr Dickey, 40, has been stuck 3,400ft below the ground after becoming seriously ill during an expedition to the Morca cave last Saturday.
A large-scale international rescue operation is now underway, officials from Turkey’s disaster management agency confirmed.
What is a speleologist?
Saturday 9 September 2023 19:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Mark Dickey is an American speleologist, or someone who studies all aspects of caves including their geology, biology, hydrology, and history.
Speleologists often research how the cave is formed and how It changes – this is known as speleogenesis and speleomorphology.
“Speleology is an interdisciplinary field that combines a lot of scientific skills,” according to StartCaving.com says.
Read my colleague Faiza Saqib’s explainer on this field of study here:
Who is American speleologist Mark Dickey?
Saturday 9 September 2023 18:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Hailing from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Mark Dickey is a highly-trained caver, cave rescuer and well-known in the international speleological (cave expert) community, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA).
His resume of cave explorations and expert status is endless: secretary of the ECRA medical committee, lead instructor for Caving Academy, a US-based organisation that prepares other cavers for exploration and a national instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
Find out more about about the 40-year-old American researcher here:
He helped rescue people from caves. Now he’s stuck in one of the world’s deepest
Saturday 9 September 2023 16:59 , Maanya Sachdeva
Rescue of American explorer trapped in Turkey cave has begun, officials say
Rescue teams have begun the arduous process of extricating Mark Dickey, who became seriously ill while he was exploring the Morca cave in the south of Turkey last Saturday.
The rescue operation could last for up to 10 days.
Full story here:
Rescue of American explorer trapped in Turkey cave has begun, officials say
Trapped American explorer’s parents say ‘our prayers are being answered’ amid rescue operation
Saturday 9 September 2023 15:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
The parents of Mark Dickey, who is currently trapped in a Turkey cave, have said “our prayers are being answered” as a rescue operation to safely extract the American explorer gets underway.
In a statement obtained by Mail Online, Andrew and Deborah Ann Dickey said: “We are extremely grateful to the international caving community volunteers who have demonstrated such support for our son.
“Mark is strong, but he needed his fellow cavers, including, of course, doctors to allow a devastatingly scary situation to turn positive,” their statement read.
They also said they are “thankful” Mr Dickey’s fiancee and fellow caver, Jessica “has been with him during this ordeal”.
“Our prayers are being answered and we cannot express how much that means, and will always mean to us.”
Rescue teams using explosives to widen cave for Dickey’s safe extraction
Saturday 9 September 2023 14:35 , Maanya Sachdeva
More than 180 people from eight countries have joined the efforts to help Mark Dickey out of a cave in Turkey, according to The New York Times.
The American explorer was exploring the Morca cave last week but became trapped after he began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding.
The newspaper also reported that rescuers are using explosives to widen parts of the extremely narrow cave, with many twists and turns that make it difficult to navigate.
It typically takes a person in good health around 15 hours to exit.
While Mr Dickey’s condition has stabilised, officials said he may still need a stretcher to exit.
Rescue operation will last ‘at least three to four days’
Saturday 9 September 2023 13:16 , Maanya Sachdeva
The operation to rescue trapped American explorer Mark Dickey from the Morca cave in Turkey will last “at least three to four days”, officials have said.
“This is a difficult operation. It would take a [healthy] person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days,” Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey’s disaster relief agency, AFAD, told the IHA news agency. “Our priority is health. Our aim is to conclude this operation without anyone coming under any danger.”
Chris Stevenson reports:
Rescuers poised to begin evacuation of explorer trapped 3,400ft inside cave in Turkey
Dickey says he was ‘very close to the edge’ in emotional first video from cave
Saturday 9 September 2023 12:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
Trapped American explorer Mark Dickey said he “was very close to the edge” as he thanked Turkish authorities for saving his life in an emotional video from deep inside a cave system.
Full story by Graeme Massie here:
Trapped American explorer releases emotional video from deep in Turkish cave
Watch: Rescue operation underway for ill American stuck deep in Turkish cave
Saturday 9 September 2023 12:00 , Maanya Sachdeva
Images of the rescue operation
Saturday 9 September 2023 11:30 , Maanya Sachdeva
Map of Morca cave system
Saturday 9 September 2023 10:35 , Graeme Massie
$50,000 raised for Mark Dickey
Saturday 9 September 2023 09:01 , Graeme Massie
A fundraiser benefitting the teams that are rescuing Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey has raised $50,000.
The GoFundMe was set up to help fund the complicated rescue mission which will likely take days.
“This fundraiser is started on behalf of the National Cave Rescue Commission (for whom Mark is also an instructor) and will be used to be distributed to the rescue teams to cover the logistical costs of aiding him out of the cave,” the description reads.
So far, the fundraiser has met half of its goal of $100,000.
Six international rescue teams will assist in rescue
Saturday 9 September 2023 07:10 , Graeme Massie
Six rescue teams from different countries apart of the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) are working together to try to rescue American Mark Dickey from the Morca cave in Turkey.
At 3,400 feet, it will be incredibly difficult to get Mr Dickey, safely, out of the cave.
To make it easier, the ECRA is going to split seven parts of the cave up among the six teams. Each time will find solutions to conduct the rescue operation at a set number of feet.
The Bulgarian cave rescue team will first find a way to get Mr Dickey from 3,412 feet (where he is now) to 2,953 feet.
From there, the Croatian rescue team will get Mr Dickey to 2,345 feet.
Then the Italian rescue team will get Mr Dickey to 1,640 feet.
After that the Polish rescue team will take over to help Mr Dickey reach 1,181 feet.
Then the Hungarian team will assist in reaching 590 feet.
Finally, the Turkish team will help get Mr Dickey out of the cave and to the surface so he can reach proper medical care.
Dickey’s parents thank rescuers for efforts
Saturday 9 September 2023 05:04 , Maanya Sachdeva
Andrew and Deborah Ann Dickey, the scientist Mark Dickey’s parents, released a statement thanking rescuers for their life-saving efforts.
“Mark is strong, but he needed his fellow cavers, including, of course, the doctors, to allow a devastatingly scary situation to turn positive,” Dickey’s parents said.
“Our prayers are being answered and we cannot express how much that means, and will always mean, to us.”
Who is Mark Dickey?
Saturday 9 September 2023 03:05 , Graeme Massie
Hailing from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Mark Dickey is a highly-trained caver, cave rescuer himself and well-known in the international speleological (cave expert) community, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA).
His resume of cave explorations and expert status is endless: secretary of the ECRA medical committee, lead instructor for Caving Academy, a US-based organisation that prepares other cavers for exploration and a national instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
He also volunteers with the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a nonprofit search-and-rescue team.
Having participated in many cave explorations in karst areas around the world for many years, Mr Dickey is knowledgeable and skilled – the kind of person you’d want on complicated cave exploration like the Morca mission.
Mr Dickey was on an expedition to map the 4,186-foot-deep cave system in southern Turkey for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association.
Photos from a Facebook page that seemingly belongs to Mr Dickey show him happily preparing for the mission by inspecting all the necessary gear before embarking.
He built a career rescuing people from caves. Now he’s stuck in one of the world’s deepest
Saturday 9 September 2023 01:00 , Graeme Massie
For five days, expert cave explorer Mark Dickey has been stuck 3,400 feet below the surface in a cave in the Taurus Moutain region of Turkey.
Mr Dickey, 40, is an experienced caver who embarked on an expedition mission to map one of the deepest caves in the world – the Morca cave system in southern Turkey.
But the expedition was suddenly cut short after Mr Dickey fell ill with gastrointestinal bleeding.
Now, a rescue team of over 150 personnel from several international organisations have combined their efforts to try to retrieve Mr Dickey, who cannot leave the cave due to the emergency medical situation.
As of Thursday, officials in the Speleological Federation of Turkey said that Mr Dickey’s situation had improved but that he would require a stretcher, making the rescue mission even more complicated.
Ariana Baio reports:
He helped rescue people from caves. Now he’s stuck in one of the world’s deepest
Officials share more details about cave rescue operation
Saturday 9 September 2023 19:03 , Chris Stevenson
Tulga Sener, the head of the rescue commission medical unit, told Reuters that Mr Dickey’s health condition was stable and his vital signs normal, adding that three doctors would attend to him on his way up.
It is believed that Mr Dickey will have to take significant rest at frequent points on the way out.
Explosives will need to be used to expand some of the more narrow points of the cave to allow safe passage said Recep Salci, the head of search and rescue for AFAD, with the aim of bringing Mr Dickey up a stretcher.
Rescuers will use a “security belt” system to lift him through the cave’s narrowest openings.
“Our aim is to bring him out and to have him hospitalised as soon as possible,” Mr Salci said.
What is a speleologist? Mission to extract US explorer trapped 3,400 feet deep in Turkish Cave underway
Friday 8 September 2023 20:33 , Graeme Massie
The Cave Exploration Society says Morca cave is the 74th deepest cave in the world and the third deepest in Turkey - here’s everything you need to know about Speleology.
Mission to bring caver to surface will start Saturday, Turkish officials say
Friday 8 September 2023 18:31 , Graeme Massie
Mark Dickey remains 3,600ft underground, but the effort to lift him to the surface is set to begin on Saturday, a director at Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) told CNN on Friday.
Dickey fell ill last weekend with suspected gastrointestinal bleeding during an exploration of the Morca Sinkhole in Morca Valley, near Anamur in southern Turkey.
Doctors working to improve Mark Dickey’s health
Friday 8 September 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio
In an update from the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA), officials said doctors are working to improve Mark Dickey’s health to the fullest extent possible before they conduct the rescue mission.
“The doctors are working to further improve the patient’s health [sic] so that the difficult transport to the surface can begin soon without further complications,” they wrote in a press release.
Officials said they believe Mr Dickey will need to use a stretcher for some of the rescue mission but the better his condition is the fewer complications there will be.
Mark Dickey calls rescue mission ‘great opportunity’ for international teams to work together
Friday 8 September 2023 16:45 , Ariana Baio
In a message from Mark Dickey, the expert caver said a rescue mission like the one he will embark on is an opportunity to show the world how international teams can work together.
“As you can see I’m up, I’m alert, I’m talking. But I’m not healed on the inside yet so I’m going to need a lot of help to get out of here,” Mr Dickey said in a video circulated around on Thursday.
Despite the scary situation, Mr Dickey remained hopeful and provided some positive thoughts: “This is often, in the caving world, a great opportunity to show just how well the international world can work together.”
Communications improved
Friday 8 September 2023 15:19 , Chris Stevenson
The European Cave Rescue Association said on its website on Friday that the cave had been divided into seven sections, with various rescue teams taking responsibility for each of the levels down the cave. Communication lines inside the cave had also been improved, it said.
"The doctors are working to further improve the patient's health's so that the difficult transport to the surface can begin soon without further complications."
Swapping doctors
Friday 8 September 2023 14:57 , Ariana Baio
Members of Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team joined rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey late on Thursday.
The Italian organisation said six of their rescuers, including a doctor and nurse, reached Mr Dickey during the night.
The team is switching out the Hungarian doctor who has been tending to Mr Dickey with their own. The team planned to work to keep him stable for 15 to 20 hours before being replaced by another team.
Small camps are being set up at different levels inside the cave gave doctors, nurses and technicians a place to rest, the group said.
Dozens of rescuers in the cave
Friday 8 September 2023 14:12 , Chris Stevenson
Recep Salci, a Turkeish rescue official, told HaberTurk TV that doctors gave Mr Dickey IV fluids and 4 litres of blood inside the cave.
More than 30 rescuers were inside the cave on Friday afternoon, and teams comprised of a doctor and three or four others take turns staying with the American at all times, Mr Salci said.
“Our aim is to bring him out and to have him hospitalized as soon as possible,” he said.More than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers, are involved in the rescue operation.
Rescue plan on hold until doctors to give ‘go ahead’
Friday 8 September 2023 13:49 , Ariana Baio
A Turkish official has said rescuers are waiting for doctors to give the go-ahead for the difficult operation to begin.
Recep Salci, the head of AFAD's search and rescue department, told HaberTurk TV that the plan was to lift Dickey on a stretcher but to use a "security belt" system to lift him through the cave's narrow openings.
"We are trying to expand the narrow areas by making small explosions, by breaking some areas," Mr Salci said.
Caver describes the complexity of Morca cave
Friday 8 September 2023 13:10 , Chris Stevenson
Carl Heitmeyer, the public information officer for the New Jersey Initial Response Team described the complexity of the cave system that Mark Dickey is in to New Jersey Patch.
"I compare it to Everest," Mr Heitmeyer said.
"There’s twists and turns and squeezes," he said. "There’s climbs both up and down. And then there’s the rope work, where you’re hanging on, climbing up. And then there’s water coming in...some of the times when you’re on rope, doing all that very technical stuff, you’re blinking because of the rain."
‘Cave divided into sections'
Friday 8 September 2023 12:48 , Chris Stevenson
Gretchen Baker, a representative of the National Cave Rescue Commission in Huntsville, Alabama has spoken about how the route is being prepared for Mark Dickey to exit the cave. “The cave has been divided into seven sections, with different cave rescue teams working to prepare each section for Mark’s passage,” Ms Baker said. “This includes adapting the current rigging to rescue rigging, which can hold more weight and is in good places to put in haul systems. It also means enlarging the passages so that a litter can fit through.”
Mr Dickey will assist in his rescue, but to keep his condition stable, he will be put on a litter, a type of stretcher, “for at least part of the time,” Ms Baker told The Washington Post. “Using the litter protects him, but also means that it will take longer to get out of the cave, as there are many narrow, tight sections on the route out, and the litter is harder to fit through than a human body,” she added.
‘I was very close to the edge’
Friday 8 September 2023 11:30 , Namita Singh
In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Mark Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.
“Hi. Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand metres,” Mr Dickey said. “The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface.
“We’re still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now it’s a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I don’t quite know what’s happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.”
Mr Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group he is affiliated with. It is unclear what caused his medical issue.
‘Hours of descent'
Friday 8 September 2023 11:15 , Chris Stevenson
Speaking to an Israeli rescuer, they say getting down to the depth Mark Dickey is takes almost a day of contstant descent. Communication also slow, as for every update you need to send someone to climb 500m to the phone that sits at that depth. That takes 7-10 hours.
Watch: Rescue operation underway for ill American stuck deep in Turkish cave
Friday 8 September 2023 11:09 , Chris Stevenson
‘Evacuation could take days'
Friday 8 September 2023 10:46 , Chris Stevenson
"The doctors we sent down were very successful in treating [Mark Dickey]," Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey's disaster relief agency, told the IHA news agency. "We are now in a position to evacuate him."
"This is a difficult operation. It would take a [healthy] person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days," Mr Yildiz continued. "Our priority is health. Our aim is to conclude this operation without anyone coming under any danger.
More rescuers to join Dickey’s extraction mission
Friday 8 September 2023 10:30 , Namita Singh
A team of rescuers from Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early on Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.
The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Mark Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.
The cave has been divided into several sections, with each country’s rescue team being responsible for one section.
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Mr Dickey’s location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.
How deep is the cave Mark Dickey is in?
Friday 8 September 2023 10:14 , Chris Stevenson
‘Rescue will not be quick'
Friday 8 September 2023 09:55 , Chris Stevenson
“This will not be a quick rescue due to where he is in the cave and the challenging terrain ahead,” Gretchen Baker, a representative of the National Cave Rescue Commission in Huntsville, Alabama, said in an emailed statement. But “the cave rescuers on scene are extremely talented, and many have worked in deep caves. Mark has caved in several European countries and knows some of these rescuers from other expeditions.”
Who is Mark Dickey?
Friday 8 September 2023 09:30 , Namita Singh
Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.
Described by the association as “a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself”, Dickey is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association’s medical committee.
Mr Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276m (4,186ft) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000m down. He initially became ill on 2 September, but it took until the morning of 3 September to notify others who were above ground.
Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.
“Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission that’s leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself,” he said.
International rescue agencies join together in Dickey extraction mission
Friday 8 September 2023 09:00 , Namita Singh
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for Mark Dickey’s safe extraction. Passages are being widened and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.
Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on the plan to hoist Mr Dickey out of the cave system, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.
The operation includes rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
