American scientist Mark Dickey was finally rescued from a cave in Turkey on Monday night after being trapped for more than a week.
Mark Dickey, 40, was trapped approximately 3,000 feet underground after suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding.
The rescue effort was described as one of the most complex cave rescues in the world with over 150 people involved. Rescue teams stabilized him, and gave him fluids and 4 liters of blood.
Rescuers from several different countries, using 70 rope systems navigated waterfalls and freezing temps as they pulled Mark Dickey out of the cave.
“I don’t know what to say. This is overwhelming,” Mark Dickey told the press after he was pulled out of the cave. He will be airlifted to the nearest hospital.
CBS News reported:
American explorer Mark Dickey was rescued from a cave in southern Turkey on Monday night, the Turkish Caving Federation said.
Dickey “was taken out of the last exit of the cave” a little past midnight local time, the federation wrote on social media. “Thus, the cave rescue part of the operation ended successfully. We congratulate all those who contributed!”
Dickey, 40, got stuck last weekend in a section of the cave system known serendipitously as “Camp Hope.” The speleologist, or cave expert, was hit with gastric pain that turned into bleeding and vomiting while helping to chart the cave system— the country’s third deepest and sixth longest— leaving him stuck more than 3,200 feet underground.
More on this story from CBS News:
