Mark Dickey, a US researcher, has been rescued from a cave in southern Turkey after nine days.

A seriously ill US cave explorer was rescued on Monday after nine days from a cave in southern Turkey. The Turkish Cave Research Society announced that Mark Dickey had been pulled out of the cave and the rescue operation had been „successfully completed“. The 40-year-old researcher had gotten into trouble in the Morca Cave near the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

Dickey war mit einem internationalen Forscherteam in die dritttiefste Höhle in der Türkei geklettert. In einer Tiefe von 1120 Metern erlitt er eine Blutung im Magen-Darm-Trakt. In der Folge wurde er von Rettungskräften zunächst in ein Basislager in 1040 Metern Tiefe gebracht, wo er Bluttransfusionen erhielt.

According to the Turkish disaster management agency Afad, Dickey’s colleagues alerted the rescue teams due to his internal bleeding. As a result, 150 emergency personnel from both domestic and international sources rushed to assist in safely extracting Dickey from the cave.

The Cave Research Society had previously expressed confidence in the rescue: „If everything goes well, Mark should be completely rescued by tonight or tomorrow,“ it said on Monday. According to this, the rescue teams were able to transport the 40-year-old man further up with a stretcher. As of Monday afternoon, only 180 meters were missing until reaching the surface.

Dickey hatte sich vergangene Woche mit einem dramatischen Appell an seine Helfer gewandt: »Hallo, ich bin Mark Dickey aus rund tausend Meter Tiefe«, sagte der Höhlenforscher in einem am Freitag von der türkischen Präsidentschaft veröffentlichten Video. Er sei zwar »bei Bewusstsein« und spreche, so Dickey weiter. Er brauche aber »sehr viel Hilfe, um hier herauszukommen«.

• Das Video – in englischer Sprache – sehen Sie hier:

According to the Turkish Cave Research Society, Dickey climbed into the Morca Cave near the Turkish Mediterranean coast with an international team of researchers. According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (Afad), Dickey’s colleagues alerted the rescue teams due to his internal bleeding. As a result, 150 emergency personnel from both domestic and foreign sources came to help safely bring Dickey out of the cave. According to the Cave Research Society, his condition stabilized, but he was unable to exit without a stretcher.