American explorer trapped 3,400 feet in Turkey cave shares emotional video as rescue effort drags on - latest
In his first video since falling ill and becoming stuck in a Turkish cave, an American explorer thanked authorities for saving his life.
Mark Dickey, 40, who is described as an expert caver, was 3,400 feet below the surface in the Morca cave when he began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding on Saturday.
“I was very close to the edge,” Mr Dickey said in a video obtained by The Associated Press.
Authorities in Turkey are working with a group of more than 150 international cave rescue experts to safely remove Mr Dickey from his location after he experienced the medical emergency.
Throughout the week, rescuers were able to send six units of blood and doctors to Mr Dickey. While his condition has improved, he may still need a stretcher to exit.
Rescuers began setting up rope lines on Wednesday as part of the effort, though it is unclear when they can begin the mission due to its extreme complexity.
The cave system is described as extremely narrow with many twists and turns, making it difficult to navigate. It typically takes a person in good health around 15 hours to exit.
Key Points
Here’s what we know about the cave rescue mission so far
Mark Dickey’s condition ‘continues to improve’
A look into the depth of the Morca cave
Where is the Morca cave?
Mark Dickey says he was ‘very close to the edge’ in emotional first video from Turkish cave
More rescuers to join Dickey’s extraction mission
10:30 , Namita Singh
A team of rescuers from Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early on Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.
The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Mark Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.
The cave has been divided into several sections, with each country’s rescue team being responsible for one section.
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Mr Dickey’s location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.
How deep is the cave Mark Dickey is in?
10:14 , Chris Stevenson
‘Rescue will not be quick'
09:55 , Chris Stevenson
“This will not be a quick rescue due to where he is in the cave and the challenging terrain ahead,” Gretchen Baker, a representative of the National Cave Rescue Commission in Huntsville, Alabama, said in an emailed statement. But “the cave rescuers on scene are extremely talented, and many have worked in deep caves. Mark has caved in several European countries and knows some of these rescuers from other expeditions.”
Who is Mark Dickey?
09:30 , Namita Singh
Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.
Described by the association as “a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself”, Dickey is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association’s medical committee.
Mr Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276m (4,186ft) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000m down. He initially became ill on 2 September, but it took until the morning of 3 September to notify others who were above ground.
Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.
“Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission that’s leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself,” he said.
International rescue agencies join together in Dickey extraction mission
09:00 , Namita Singh
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for Mark Dickey’s safe extraction. Passages are being widened and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.
Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on the plan to hoist Mr Dickey out of the cave system, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.
The operation includes rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours
08:30 , Namita Singh
Communication with Mark Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from him to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.
Experts said it will be a challenge to successfully rescue Mr Dickey.
Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey said that one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths.
Stretcher lines are labor intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours, Mr Ogrenecek said. He added that 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.
Catch up with the situation
08:00 , Ariana Baio
Race against time to save cave rescuer trapped in one of deepest caves in Turkey
Dickey issues video message thanking authorities for support
07:30 , Namita Singh
Mark Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts to help him in a video message.
“The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” said Mr Dickey. “ ... I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.”
Mr Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not “healed on the inside” and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Doctors will decide whether he will need to leave the cave on a stretcher or if he can leave under his own power.
Mr Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group he’s affiliated with. It’s unclear what caused his medical issue.
Ailing American explorer trapped 3,000 feet deep in Turkish cave awaits difficult rescue
07:00 , Namita Singh
Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the cave’s entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.
Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.
While rescuers, including a Hungarian doctor, have reached and treated Mr Dickey, it could be days and possibly weeks before they are able to get him out of the cave, which is too narrow in places for a stretcher to pass through.
Mark Dickey awaiting doctor’s permission to transport out
06:00 , Ariana Baio
On Thursday, the European Cave Rescue Association provided an update to Mark Dickey’s condition and the possibility to exiting him from the cave.
“The patient’s medical condition is stabilized. With support, he could move slowly [sic] on his own and is feeling better,” the press release said. “Technical teams are actually preparing the cave for transporting him out smoothly. As soon as the doctors are giving their permission, the transport will start.”
GoFundMe set up for rescue efforts
04:00 , Ariana Baio
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to benefit the rescue teams involved in helping extract American Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey.
“This fundraiser is started on behalf of the National Cave Rescue Commission (for whom Mark is also an instructor) and will be used to be distributed to the rescue teams to cover the logistical costs of aiding him out of the cave.”
Map shows where the Morca cave is
02:00 , Ariana Baio
Communication between officials and cavers is difficult
01:00 , Ariana Baio
Extracting Mark Dickey from the Morca cave is already a challenging feat.
But to make matters more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is very limited.
Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.
Watch: Rescue operation underway for ill American stuck deep in Turkish cave
Friday 8 September 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio
Doctors deciding if Mark Dickey can walk out of cave
Thursday 7 September 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio
As of Thursday afternoon, Mark Dickey’s condition was improving and doctors were considering if he still needs a stretcher to leave, the Speleogical Federation of Turkey said in a press release.
Mr Dickey initially was determined to need a stretcher to leave after experiencing gastrointestinal bleeding.
Expedition was intended to set up camps and survey
Thursday 7 September 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio
The expedition that Mark Dickey set about on in the Morca cave was intended to help set up camp, survey the cave and collection information, a friend of Mr Dickey’s told The Associated Press.
Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Mr Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.
“Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission that’s leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself,” Mr Hanley said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Watch: Mark Dickey’s message from the cave
Thursday 7 September 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio
What happened to Mark Dickey?
Thursday 7 September 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio
While on an exploration of the Morca cave in Turkey, Mark Dickey fell ill, causing the mission team to stop and alert authorities in the hopes to recieve medical attention.
It began with severe gastric pain that was escalating quickly.
Though there was initial hope that Mr Dickey could exit the cave on his own, the pain turned into gastrointestinal bleeding.
The Speleological Federation of Turkey sent a medical team and six units of blood in the following days in the hopes of stabilising Mr Dickey’s medical situation.
While doctors worked to assist Mr Dickey, cave experts began putting their teams together to figure out how to rescue Mr Dickey through one of the deepest, and very complicated, cave systems.
“A long and challenging rescue operation is initiated to carry Mark out on a stretcher,” the ECRA said in a statement.
How international teams plan to rescue Mark Dickey
Thursday 7 September 2023 19:50 , Ariana Baio
To tackle the issue of rescuing Mark Dickey, the team of international experts has divided up the depths of the cave and assigned it to a specific team to figure out a solution for that specific area.
At multiple very narrow spots, a demolition team will need to widen them so Mr Dickey can pass through on a stretcher. They will also need to set up several camp spots on the way up to continuously monitor Mr Dickey and give him and his team sections to rest in.
To make the matter more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is limited. Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.
Hungarian Cave Rescue Service member, Marton Kovacs, told CBS News that they were also addressing the danger of falling rocks in several places. The Hungarian team is working between the 590 to 1180-feet depths
Mr Kovacs said Mr Dickey’s exit will take several days and they hope to begin on Saturday or Sunday depending on Mr Dickey’s condition.
Mark Dickey delivers message to people on surface
Thursday 7 September 2023 19:20 , Ariana Baio
In a video, obtained by The Associated Press, caver Mark Dickey shares a message to the people on the surface.
“Hi! Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand meters,” Mr Dickey begins.
“The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface. We’re still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now it’s a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I don’t quite know what’s happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I needed, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.”
Mark Dickey says he was ‘very close to the edge’ in emotional first video from Turkish cave
Thursday 7 September 2023 18:56 , Ariana Baio
A trapped American explorer has said he “was very close to the edge” as he thanked Turkish authorities for rescuing him in an emotional video from deep inside a cave system.
Mark Dickey, 40, became trapped 3,400ft below the surface after he suffered stomach bleeding while in the Morca cave on Saturday, sparking an international rescue mission with hundreds of caving experts brought in to help.
“I was very close to the edge,” Mr Dickey admitted in the video obtained by The Associated Press.
Graeme Massie reports:
Trapped American explorer releases emotional video from deep in Turkish cave
Mark Dickey is an expert cave explorer
Thursday 7 September 2023 18:10 , Ariana Baio
Mark Dickey is a highly-trained caver, cave rescuer himself and well-known in the international speleological (cave expert) community, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA).
His resume of cave explorations and expert status is endless: secretary of the ECRA medical committee, lead instructor for Caving Academy, a US-based organisation that prepares other cavers for exploration, and a national instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
Having participated in many cave explorations in karst areas around the world for many years, Mr Dickey is knowledgeable and skilled – the kind of person you’d want on complicated cave exploration like the Morca mission.
In Photos: Rescue efforts underway
Thursday 7 September 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio
Timeline in the Turkey cave rescue
Thursday 7 September 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio
Saturday 2 September – Mark Dickey falls ill while exploring the Morca cave in the Taurus Mountain region of Turkey. The Turkey Caving Federation is contacted for help.
Sunday 3 September – Hungarian Cave Rescue Service sends a team and doctor down to the cave to reach Mr Dickey and provide medical care.
Monday 4 September – More people from the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service as well as four other rescuers from Bulgarian Cave Rescue reach the Morca base camp to assist.
Tuesday 5 September – Team members begin to think of solutions to get Mr Dickey out of the cave. Six units of blood are delivered to assist in helping Mr Dickey get better
Wednesday 6 September – Cave rescuers from Italy, Croatia and Poland are called in. Mr Dickey’s condition begins to stabilise.
Thursday 7 September – Mr Dickey’s condition still improving.
Where is the Morca cave?
Thursday 7 September 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio
International groups join forces to help recuse Mark Dickey
Thursday 7 September 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio
Several international cave rescue teams are involved in the mission to rescue Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey.
This includes teams from Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Italy and Poland
A look into the depth of the Morca cave
Thursday 7 September 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio
The Turkish Caving Federation shared a photo depicting the vertical of the cave where 40-year-old American Mark Dickey is currently stuck.
GoFundMe set up for Mark Dickey
Thursday 7 September 2023 15:06 , Ariana Baio
A fundraiser benefitting the rescue efforts to save American Mark Dickey from a cave in Turkey has been set up and raised over $40,000
The GoFundMe, set up by the National Cave Rescue Commission where Mr Dickey is an instructor, will be used to benefit the teams of people aiding the mission.
“The ill caver is a well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself. He has participated in caving expeditions in many karst areas of the world for many years. In addition to his activities as a speleologist, he is also the secretary of the ECRA medical committee and an instructor for cave rescue organizations in the USA,” a description for the GoFundMe reads.
Several international rescue teams are involved in the mission including some from Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland.
Why the rescue is so complex
Thursday 7 September 2023 14:40 , Ariana Baio
For rescuers to reach and remove Mark Dickey will be a very complicated process, according to the Turkish Caving Federation.
In a post from Tuesday, the federation described the extremely complicated process of removing a caver at the depths that Mr Dickey is currently at.
“The open cross-section of the Morca Cave. Mark is currently residing at the campsite at 3400 feet (1040 meters) from the entrance. It takes a full 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach to the surface in ideal conditions.”
Mr Dickey is unable to walk without assistance of now and needs a stretcher to be removed.
“The cave features narrow winding passages and several rappels,” the Turkish Caving Federation continued.
National Cave Rescue Commission shares photos of rescue team
Thursday 7 September 2023 14:30 , Ariana Baio
Mark Dickey’s condition ‘continues to improve’
Thursday 7 September 2023 14:26 , Ariana Baio
The Turkish Caving Federation said that medical officers and Mark Dickey’s doctor believe his condition is still improving.
In a tweet posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday, the federation said that the medical officer, Tulga Sener, spoke with Mr Dickey’s doctor to determine if he will be able to leave the cave without a stretcher.
Son gelen bilgiye göre telefon hattı Mark'ın bulunduğu -1040 m kampına ulaştırıldı. Medikal sorumlumuz Tulga Şener, doğrudan Mark'ın doktoru Zsofia ile görüştü. Mark'ın durumu iyileşmeye devam ediyor. Doktorlar sedyesiz çıkmasının mümkün olup olmadığına karar verecek. #MarkDickey
— Türkiye Mağaracılık Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 7, 2023
Here’s what we know about the cave rescue mission so far
Thursday 7 September 2023 14:23 , Ariana Baio
Mark Dickey has been at the bottom of Morca Cave for three days after falling ill while exploring underground
Barney Davis reports:
Race against time to save cave rescuer trapped in one of deepest caves in Turkey
