A massive rescue effort is underway in Turkey as an American speleologist remains trapped more than 3,200 feet inside a cave.
Mark Dickey, 40, became sick and began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding during an expedition in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, according to the European Cave Rescue Association. He was last known to be approximately 3,400 feet inside the cave.
He has been unable to leave the cave on his own since Saturday, the association said, and more than 150 Turkish and international cave rescue experts are leading the effort to save him. Rescue personnel include teams from Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland.
Dickey, who is the secretary of the association's medical committee, is described on its website as "a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself" who has participated in many international expeditions. He is also an instructor at National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), according to his social media.
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A speleologist is a scientist who studies caves or a person who goes into caves as a sport.
Dickey's expedition included mapping the Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG). The Morca cave is Turkey's third deepest.
In a social media post posted weeks before the expedition, Dickey said his goal was to explore and map the cave.
"Goal is to get beyond ~1,300 meters in Morca, but also prepare the expedition site for Caving Academy courses next year," he wrote on Aug. 8.
Other photos and posts about the Morca expedition appear to show him checking his equipment and training with a small team of other climbers.
It is not immediately clear how many ultimately joined Dickey on the trip to Turkey.
Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said the plan includes having to widen the cave’s narrow passages to accommodate a stretcher that will be used to hoist him more than 3,280 feet to the surface. They have also discussed the potential danger of falling rocks.
The cave has been divided into several sections, with each country’s rescue team being responsible for one section.
A fundraiser which has raised over $40,000 toward his rescue.
Kovacs said lifting Dickey will likely take several days and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so the rescue personnel and Dickey can rest.
Dickey was initially found and treated by the volunteer Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, which provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.
Dickey’s current condition is not immediately clear.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
