Trapped American explorer sends video message from inside Turkish cave
Rescue has begun of ailing US researcher Mark Dickey trapped over 3,000 feet inside a Turkish cave, the country’s disaster management agency said.
“This afternoon, the operation to move him from his camp at 1,040 meters to the camp at 700 meters began,” the official from the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate confirmed, adding that the operation could last 10 days.
Earlier this morning, The New York Times reported rescue teams are using explosives to blast open passages of a cave in Turkey to safely extract Mr Dickey via a stretcher.
While an international team of cave rescuers and medical personnel have been working to stabilise the cave expert before launching the operation, that is now underway, officials earlier said he may still need a stretcher to exit.
The well-known speleologist became trapped inside the Morca cave, located 3,400ft below the surface, last Saturday, after suffering from bleeding in the digestive tract.
Since then, more than 180 people from eight countries have joined the rescue efforts.
Earlier, it was estimated that the “difficult operation” would last at least three-four days, with an official fromTurkey’s disaster relief agency noting it would take a healthy person 16 hours to exit.
