Rescue efforts are underway in Turkey to retrieve an American researcher trapped 3,000 feet inside a massive cave.
Doctors gave the final go-ahead on Saturday to start rescue operations for researcher Mark Dickie, 40, who fell ill while exploring Morka Cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.
“This afternoon, the operation to move him from his camp at 1,040 meters to the camp at 700 meters began,” an official from the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate told the press.
AMERICAN SAVER MARK DICKEY TRAPPED 3,400 FEET IN CAVE IN TURKEY, MASS RESCUE EFFORT CONTINUES
U.S. explorer Mark Dickey is seen next to a rescuer inside the Morca Cave, near Anamur in southern Turkey’s Mersina province, on September 6, 2023 in this video screen shot. (AFAD, Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency/Handout via REUTERS)
Dickie became ill and began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding during his expedition, according to the European Cave Rescue Association.
Morca Cave is the third deepest cave in Turkey and was last known to be about 3,400 feet inside.
He has not been able to leave the cave on his own since Thursday, according to the New Jersey First Response Team, a local volunteer group that specializes in cave and mine rescue.
TRAPPED AMERICAN SHARES INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO MESSAGE FROM TURKISH CAVE: ‘NEAR THE EDGE’ BUT BETTER
European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) and Turkiye Cave Rescue Committee (MKK) teams begin the rescue operation for American scientist Mark Dickey who is trapped inside the Turkish cave after gastrointestinal bleeding in Mersina, Turkey on September 09, 2023. 196 people from 8 countries work in the area at an altitude of 2,200 in the Taurus Mountains. ((Photo by Mustafa Unal Uysal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
A Hungarian doctor managed to reach Dickey, and the American was now cared for by a rotating team of doctors who came down to attend to him.
More than 150 Turkish and international cave rescue the experts take the lead in trying to save him. Rescue personnel include teams from Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland.
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said the rescue plan included the need to widen the cave’s narrow passages to accommodate a stretcher that could be used to lift him to the surface.
European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) and Turkiye Cave Rescue Committee (MKK) teams begin the rescue operation for American scientist Mark Dickey who is trapped inside the Turkish cave after gastrointestinal bleeding in Mersina, Turkey on September 09, 2023. 196 people from 8 countries work in the area at an altitude of 2,200 in the Taurus Mountains. ((Photo by Mustafa Unal Uysal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The rescue operation could take up to ten days from start to finish, officials say.
