Seriously ill US explorer is rescued from deep Turkish cave

A US explorer has been rescued from a Turkish cave more than a week after he fell seriously ill deep underground, rescuers said late on Monday.

Mark Dickey, 40, developed stomach problems on 2 September while examining the depths of the Morca cave, a remote complex of narrow underground tunnels in southern Turkey’s Taurus mountains.

He was finally brought back to the surface on Monday, according to the Speleological Federation of Turkey.

“Mark Dickey is out of the Morca cave. He is fine and is being tended to by emergency medical worker in the encampment above,” the federation said.

“Thus, the cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully. We congratulate all those who have contributed!”

The Morca cave is Turkey’s third-deepest, its lowest point reaching nearly 1.3km (0.8 miles) below ground.

Mark Dickey fell ill at more than 1,100 metres underground. Photograph: Turkish Director of CommunicationAFP/Getty Images

Dickey fell ill at a depth of 1,120 metres (3,700ft), sparking what organisers said was one of the largest and most complicated underground rescue operations ever mounted.

An international team of rescuers, fellow explorers and medics began to cautiously pull Dickey to safety after first giving him infusions of blood.

He was strapped to a stretcher, which sometimes needed to be lifted vertically by rope through particularly narrow passageways.

Before the successful rescue, officials said Dickey’s health had 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.”