American explorer rescued from deep Turkey cave after being trapped for days

Rescuers pulled American explorer Mark Dickey from a cave in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey, more than a week after he fell ill while at a depth of more than 3,280 feet inside the cave.

The Turkish Caving Federation announced that the 40-year-old explorer was successfully removed from the last cave exit around 12:37 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Efforts to extricate Dickey first began after he experienced stomach bleeding on Sept. 2.

"Thus, the cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully. We congratulate all those who have contributed," the organization said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

When Dickey first fell ill, other members of his expedition made contact with the European Cave Rescue Association in the hopes of securing medication for him so he could climb out of the cave on his own. When his condition deteriorated the next day, they asked for international help.

On Sept. 3, a Hungarian rescue team was able to descend into the cave far enough to reach Dickey and provide medical care, as well as fresh blood and fluid, according to a New Jersey Initial Response Team update posted to Facebook.

In the days since, teams from Turkey, Poland, Italy, Croatia, and Bulgaria also arrived to assist with the operation. All told, 190 doctors, paramedics and cave experts from eight countries joined the effort, Mersin Gov. Ali Hamza Pehlivan said, the AP reported.

Rescuers successfully moved Dickey up to 590 feet below the surface on Monday, the Federation revealed via X. The day before, they were able to move him to a temporary camp at 2,300 feet below ground.

Dickey and several others were on an expedition to map the Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association.

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A steep climb

At a depth of 4186 feet, the Morca cave is the third deepest in Turkey, according to the Speleology Federation of Turkey. "Rescue missions from such deepness are very rare, extremely difficult and need many very experienced cave rescuers," the ECRA said in a statement.

"I want to thank everyone that's down here and thank the response of the caving community," Dickey said earlier in a video recorded from the 3280 foot level. "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."

Dickey is the secretary of the ECRA's medical committee and a "well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself," according to the Association's website.

Explorer in stable condition

While the cause of Dickey's illness was not clear, AP reported the explorer's parents said their son was in stable condition. Debbie and Andy Dickey, said their son "has been moved out of Morca Cave in stable condition is indescribably relieving and fills us with incredible joy."

Doctors and rescuers had set up temporary camps in the cave's passages and installed ropes to help pull Dickey up with a stretcher during the rescue mission. The explorer had been too ill to climb out himself but his condition improved with the help of the rescue team.

A video message made available from Turkish authorities last week showed Dickey standing and moving around. At the time, Dickey said he was not "healed on the inside" and needed help to get out of the cave. He also thanked the caving community and Turkish authorities for their efforts to rescue him.

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. You can reach her on her email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @CybeleMO.