Spelunker trapped deep inside Turkey cave
Rescue could take days, even weeks
ISTANBUL — Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 3,000 feet below the cave’s entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.
Experienced spelunker 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.
In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.
“The caving world is a really tight-knit group, and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” Dickey said. “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.”
Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not “healed on the inside” and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Experts said the rescue operation could take days or even weeks, depending on conditions.
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 cave rescue group he’s affiliated with. It’s unclear what caused his medical issue.
The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care. The group says the cave is quite cold, about 39 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit.
Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Dickey to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.
Dinko Novosel, a Croatian cave rescuer who is head of the European Association of Cave Rescuers, said it will be a challenge to rescue Dickey. The operation to bring him up from the depths involves rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Turkey.
Dickey was described by the European Cave Rescue Association as “a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself ” who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions.