An international rescue team is racing against time to rescue an ailing US scientist trapped 3,280 feet underground in Turkey’s third-deepest cave.
Speleologist Mark Dickey, 40, fell ill with gastrointestinal bleeding Saturday while exploring the Morca cave in Turkey’s southern Taurus Mountains as part of an international expedition, according to the European Cave Rescue Association.
Because of his condition, Dickey was unable to get out of the cave on his own, the association said on its website, describing Dickey as “a highly trained caver and cave rescuer himself.”
The Turkish Speleology Federation reported Wednesday that Dickey’s bleeding has stopped — and he can walk with assistance — but may need to be on a stretcher to be moved out of the cave system.
“The operation is logistically and technically one of the largest cave rescues in the world, involving 150 rescuers,” the cave federation said in a statement.
Speleologist Mark Dickey, 40, fell ill with intestinal bleeding on Saturday while taking part in an international expedition to map new routes inside Turkey’s third-deepest cave system. Mark Dickey/Facebook
A group of 150 cave rescuers from around the world are working to rescue Dickey from the Morca cave. Hungarian Cave Rescue Service
Dickey was trapped at a depth of 3,280 feet, near the bottom of the Morca cave. Turkish Cave Federation
A team of doctors and paramedics are on the scene to provide medical assistance.
Dickey, a veteran instructor with the National Cave Rescue Commission, was co-leading an expedition to find and map a new route in the 4,186-foot-deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleological Group Association when he fell ill at around 10,000 feet. 3,674 feet before being transferred to the group’s base camp.
It could take anywhere from a few days to three weeks to safely lift Dickey from his current location, depending on conditions, said Yusuf Ogrenecek, with the cave association.
Turkish rescuers are leading a complex operation to extract Dickey, which could take days or weeks. Turkish Cave Federation
Ogrenecek said Dickey’s condition continues to improve and he is in “good spirits,” with his fiancee and fellow caveman, Jessica, by his side.
His parents, Andrew and Deborah Ann Dickey, issued a statement thanking rescuers for their efforts to save their lives.
“Mark is strong, but he needs cave friends, including, of course, the doctor, to allow a scary situation to be positive,” said the parents. “Our prayers were answered and we can’t express how much that means, and will always mean, to us.”
Rescuers from the Italian National Alpine Rescue and Speleological Team will fly to Turkey on Thursday night.
Dickey is an experienced cave explorer and cave rescuer himself.Mark Dickey/Facebook
A total of about 50 rescuers will be at the mouth of the cave early Friday to join the operation led by the Turkish authorities.
Marton Kovacs, of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, said the cave was now being prepared for Dickey’s extraction. Narrow paths are being widened to accommodate stretchers, and the danger of falling rocks is also being reduced.
The cave passage needs to be widened to allow Dickey to be carried out on a stretcher. Turkish Caving Federation
The rescue team, with participants from Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia and Poland, hopes the extraction can begin as early as Saturday or Sunday.
Kovacs said raising Dickey will likely take several days, and several rest stops are being prepared within the cave system.
The cave has been divided into sections, with rescue teams from each country responsible for one section.
Dickey’s rescue has been described as one of the world’s most complicated to date. Turkish Cave Federation
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service was the first to arrive at Dickey’s location and provided an emergency blood transfusion.
The operation to rescue Dickey will be a challenge given his condition and the need to ensure he is medically fit to travel through the dangerous cave system, warned Jerzy Siodlak, head of Poland’s mountain rescue service.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
