Turkish Governor of Mersin Ali Hamza Pehlivan, center, during his visit to Morca Cave during a rescue operation near Anamur, southern Turkey, Saturday, September 9, 2023. The American researcher Mark Dickey, 40, who fell ill nearly 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below a cave entrance in Turkey, has recovered sufficiently to be extracted in an operation that could last three or four days. (Photo by KHALIL HAMRA/AP)
TASELI PLATEAU, Turkey — Rescue teams began the arduous process Saturday of freeing an American researcher who fell seriously ill while 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below a cave entrance in Turkey , said an official from Turkey’s disaster management agency.
It could take days to bring Mark Dickey to the surface, as rescuers anticipate he will need to stop and rest frequently at camps set up along the way while they pull his stretcher through the narrow passages.
“This afternoon, the operation to move him from his camp at 1,040 meters to the camp at 700 meters began,” the head of the Directorate of Disaster and Emergency Management told The Associated Press .
The 40-year-old experienced caver began vomiting due to stomach bleeding while on an expedition with a handful of others to Morca Cave in the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey.
Rescue teams from across Europe rushed to Dickey’s aid. A Hungarian doctor reached him and treated him inside the cave on September 3. Since then, doctors and rescuers have taken turns caring for him.
