Turki

Jakarta –

An American tourist is trapped in the deepest cave, more than a thousand meters deep. He was there for days.

Reported CNN, Wednesday (13/9/2023), this was a dramatic and complex international rescue operation. The male tourist from the United States who was trapped in one of Turkey’s deepest caves was rescued on Tuesday.

He was there for more than a week. While inside he was said to have become seriously ill and became too weak to be able to get out on his own.

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This is Mark Dickey (40), a cave explorer who is said to be accomplished and experienced. He had been part of a research group on an exploration mission in Morca Cave when he reportedly began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding.

This cave is located in the Taurus mountains in southern Türkiye. Its depth reaches 1,276 meters. A massive rescue effort was launched involving many teams of experienced cave explorers from around the world.

“Mark Dickey was in the hands of rescue workers and appeared fine at first glance,” said Recep Salci of Turkey’s disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD).

He was carried out of the cave by a rescuer and was seen smiling.

Mark Dickey (40), a cave explorer (Photo: CNN)

“It’s great to be on the ground again,” Dickey said. He also thanked the rescue team and the Turkish government for saving his life without any questions.

“I was underground longer than expected due to an unexpected medical problem,” he said.

The cave where Dickey was trapped consisted of steep vertical shafts and many deep holes and narrow passages, Agnes Berentes, a photographer from Hungary who had been inside, told Reuters.

The very low temperature was also very wet, he estimated the temperature was around 4 degrees Celsius.

Adding to the risks and complications was his health as he suffered from severe stomach bleeding. His condition was so severe that medics and rescue workers had to give him a blood transfusion deep in the cave.

The European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) said they first received a call on September 2 alerting them to Dickey’s plight.

This sparked an international rescue operation led by at least 200 volunteers from countries such as America, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.

The rescue effort was divided into seven sections at various depths, ECRA officials said. The team worked around the clock and managed to move Dickey to a depth of 180 meters below the surface, eventually bringing him out of the cave.

Dickey has been an experienced instructor with the National Cave Rescue Commission for a decade. He has explored caves in 20 U.S. states and in 10 different countries, according to the Caving Academy, a nonprofit organization for cave explorers he founded.

He began caving in the 1990s and also served as secretary of the medical commission of the European Cave Rescue Association and executive director of the Caving Academy.

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2023-09-16 16:03:30
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