An international rescue team has managed to rescue an American speleologist and scientist. Mark Dickey fell ill with a stomach hemorrhage when he was 1,200 meters deep in one of the deepest caves in Turkey, where he remained trapped for the last nine days. “I was underground much longer than expected with a sudden medical problem,” he said.

The rescued explorer, 40 years old, is in “good condition” of health, according to Recep Salci, from the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), after ending the successful operation in the Morca cave. , in the southern Turkish province of Mersin, shortly after midnight.

After the necessary checks and medical treatments at two posts established inside the cave, the third deepest in Turkey, the speleologist was taken out of the cavity on a stretcher through narrow passageways, some of which had to be widened.

A total of 196 specialists from eight countries, including Turkey, participated in the rescue efforts, which Salci described as the most comprehensive cave rescue operation in the world to date, closely followed by the media.

Temperatures up to 4ºC

“It's been a crazy adventure, but I'm on the surface, I'm still alive. The European Cave Rescue Association and many organizations made a difference. “It's very difficult, it's the first time (it's been done),” the speleologist acknowledged.

The experts had to give him blood transfusions at a depth of 1,400 meters and wait for him to respond positively to this treatment and stand up before beginning the arduous operation to bring him to the surface.

Morca Cave, the third deepest and sixth longest in Turkey, attracts the attention of numerous scientists for its special structure. Temperatures inside can drop up to 4 degrees Celsius and in previous explorations lakes were found 1,274 meters deep.

Dickey and his team, which included his fiancee, a professional cave explorer, aimed to make a scientific discovery in Morca, find and map a new deep passage and record new endemic species.