Daily Times

On Tuesday, an international rescue team rescued US explorer Mark Dickey, who had been trapped for nine days in the narrow tunnels of a Turkish cave with internal bleeding.

“Mark Dickey was removed from the last exit of the cave,” the Turkish Caving Federation stated, adding that the “cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully.”

While exploring the depths of the Morca Cave, a remote complex of twisting underground passageways in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the 40-year-old explorer developed stomach problems.

At its deepest point, Turkey’s third-deepest cave is nearly 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) below ground.

Dickey became ill at a depth of 1,120 metres (3,695 feet), triggering one of the largest and most complicated underground rescue operations ever carried out, according to organisers.

After giving Mark Dickey blood infusions, an international team of 200 rescuers, fellow explorers, and medics began to carefully pull him to safety.

They first strapped him to a stretcher, which had to be lifted vertically through particularly narrow passageways using a rope.

The teams pulling the ropes would occasionally take breaks, climbing back up to the surface before returning underground.

“We congratulate all those who contributed,” the Turkish Caving Federation said.

Mark Dickey in good health

Officials said Dickey’s health has been steadily improving for a few days.

“He is in good health in general. He continues to be fed with liquids,” Cenk Yildiz, the head of the local branch of Turkey’s emergency response service, told reporters late on Sunday.

“We have resolved his stomach bleeding issues with plasma and serum support.”

In a video recorded on Wednesday, Dickey thanked the Turkish government for its help.

“The quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I needed, in my opinion, saved my life,” Dickey said.

The European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) called Dickey an experienced explorer with a medical background.

The New York state native is a “well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself,” the ECRA said.

“In addition to his activities as a speleologist, he is also the secretary of the ECRA medical committee and an instructor for cave rescue organisations in the USA.”