U.S. researcher Mark Dickey, trapped in Türkiye's third-deepest cave for days, was rescued at 12:37 a.m. local time Tuesday, more than a week after he fell seriously ill 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance, officials said.
Teams from across Europe rushed to the Morca Cave in southern Türkiye’s Taurus Mountains to aid Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver who became seriously ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. He was on an expedition to map the vast cave.
Dickey was too frail to climb out himself, so rescuers carried him with the help of a stretcher, making frequent stops at temporary camps set up along the way before he finally reached the surface.
"Mark Dickey is out of the Morca Cave," a statement from the Speleological Federation of Türkiye said.
Lying on a stretcher surrounded by reporters following his rescue, Dickey described the ordeal as a "crazy, crazy adventure."
"It is amazing to be above ground again," he said, thanking the Turkish government for saving his life with its rapid response. He also thanked the international caving community, Turkish cavers and the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service.
The American was first treated inside the cave by a Hungarian doctor on Sept. 3. Doctors and rescuers then took turns caring for him. The cause of Dickey’s illness was not clear.
On Tuesday, Dickey said that he had started throwing up large quantities of blood while exploring the depths of the cave.
"My consciousness started to get harder to hold on to, and I reached the point where I thought, ‘I’m not going to live,’" he told reporters.
The biggest challenges for the rescuers getting him out of the cave were the steep vertical sections and navigating through mud and water at low temperatures in the horizontal sections. There was also the psychological toll of staying inside a dark, damp cave for extended periods.
Around 190 experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Türkiye took part in the rescue, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers. Teams comprising a doctor and three to four other rescuers took turns always staying by his side.
The rescue began on Saturday after doctors, who administered IV fluids and blood, determined that Dickey could make the arduous ascent.
Before the evacuation could begin, rescuers first had to widen some of the cave’s narrow passages, install ropes to pull him up vertical shafts on a stretcher and set up temporary camps.
Dickey, from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, is a well-known cave researcher and a cave rescuer who had participated in many international expeditions.
He and several other people on the expedition were mapping the 1,276-meter-deep (4,186-foot-deep) Morca Cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association. Dickey became ill on Sept. 2, but it took until the following day to notify people above ground.
Turkish authorities released a video message that showed Dickey standing and moving around on Thursday. While alert and talking, he said he was not "healed on the inside" and needed help to get out of the cave.