Researcher Mark Dickey Trapped In Cave In Turkey After Suffering From Gastrointestinal Bleeding

American researcher Mark Dickey is currently trapped in a cave in southern Turkey after falling ill on Saturday. 

Dickey, who is an experienced caver, suffered from gastrointestinal bleeding while he was on an expedition with his fellow cavers in Turkey’s southern Taurus Mountains. 

Carl Heitmeyer, New Jersey’s public information officer for their Initial Response Team, shared that when Dickey first fell ill, he developed a cough, began vomiting and discovered that there was blood in his stool. His condition only worsened and he was unable to eat, and even fell into a semiconscious state for three days. He is currently doing better as he is eating again and stopped vomiting. 

Doctors have been sending help to Dickey as he battles the bleeding by supplying him with several units of blood. 

According to the head of the European Association of Cave Rescuers, Dinko Novosel, “This is very complex cave rescue operation. Until now, there is no case in the world where we had a bigger cave rescue operation.” This is partially due to the cave consisting of complicated turns that even have challenged experienced cavers. 

The New Jersey cave rescue group affiliated with Dickey has shared that it takes up to seven hours to relay and receive information to him, as the only form of communication is through runners. 

Teams from Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Hungary have been assembled to help in the operation. There are more than 170 people assisting, including paramedics and doctors. It has been determined that it could take up to three weeks. 

Dickey was conducting an expedition where his goal was to map the entire Morca cave until he began facing some issues at around 1,000 meters down. 

Currently, the cave is undergoing preparation in order to safely extract Dickey. He may need a stretcher due to his condition, but experts are facing problems with narrow passages and falling rocks. 

They have divided the cave into different sections, giving each country responsibility for a certain area. 

One of Dickey’s friends shared that Dickey intends to climb out himself, but he currently cannot walk without assistance. In addition to this, he has been warned that this would be extremely dangerous and that it is the equivalent of him climbing Mount Everest. 

The teams hope to begin extraction this weekend and are prepared for it to take several days, as they will need to rest in between. 

Dickey’s parents, Andrew and Deborah Ann Dickey, released a statement stating, “Mark is strong, but he needed his fellow cavers, including, of course, the doctors, to allow a devastatingly scary situation to turn positive. Our prayers are being answered and we cannot express how much that means, and will always mean, to us.” 

The latest update was posted on Facebook by the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). They shared that “the latest report is that Mark is doing better,” and included some photos of the team preparing for the rescue. The commission additionally added that, “It’s expected to take at least several days to get Mark out of the cave.”