Rescue mission begins to save unwell man stuck 3,000ft below ground in a cave

Efforts to rescue a man who fell ill while 3,000ft below ground in a cave in Turkey have begun.

Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old researcher and experienced caver, started vomiting due to stomach bleeding during an expedition in the Morca cave in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.

Rescuers and doctors from across Europe have raced to treat the American while still deep below ground, and now efforts to bring him back to the surface have begun.

One Hungarian doctor reached him and treated him inside the cave on September 3. So far he’s been given IV fluids and four litres of blood, and a doctor and small team of others have remained with him at all times.

Turkey’s disaster management agency says it could take up to 10 days to bring Mr Dickey back to the surface, as it’s expected he’ll need to stop and rest regularly while he’s pulled on a stretcher through narrow passages.

An official from the agency said: ‘This afternoon, the operation to move him from his camp at 1,040 metres to the camp at 700 metres began.’

There are 190 people from eight countries assisting in the rescue effort, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers – 153 of whom are search and rescue experts.

Ali Hamza Pehlivan, governor of Mersin, said on Saturday: ‘We have received information that his condition is getting better, thanks to medical intervention. He has been in stable condition as of yesterday.’

The rescue operation could take up to 10 days (Pictures: REUTERS)

He’s more than 3,000ft underground (Picture: REUTERS)

Mark Dickey fell ill while on an expedition (Picture: via REUTERS)

Turkish authorities shared a video which showed Mr Dickey standing and moving around on Thursday.

While alert and talking, he said he was not ‘healed on the inside’ and needed a lot of help to get out of the cave.

Mr Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts to rescue him.

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Yusuf Ogrenecek, of the Speleological Federation of Turkey, said one of the most difficult tasks will be to widen 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’ he said, adding 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.

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‘His condition is getting better, thanks to medical intervention. He has been in stable condition as of yesterday.’