Rescuers use explosives to blow open narrow cave passages to save stuck American
Rescue teams in Turkey have had to resort to using explosives to widen narrow passages in the ongoing efforts to extract a stricken American researcher from the depths of a cave system.
The experienced caver, Mark Dickey, 40, started vomiting on September 2 because of stomach bleeding while on an expedition with a handful of others 1,000m underground in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, one of the deepest in the world.
A strenuous rescue operation was launched with the Turkish Caving Federation now saying he is almost 180m from freedom. He is expected to be freed “today or tomorrow”.
“The rescue team is currently moving Mark to -180 metres,” the Turkish Caving Federation said on Monday morning.
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He is a well known caver (Facebook)“The rescue operation will continue from the -180 metres after Mark has rested at the camp here for a while. If everything goes well, it is aimed to rescue Mark completely by tonight or tomorrow.”
Doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers from across Europe rushed to help following news of the unfolding accident spread. They set up small medical base camps at various levels along the shaft, providing Mr Dickey an opportunity to rest during the slow and arduous extrication.
Turkish authorities said there are 190 personnel from eight countries taking part in the operation, 153 of them search and rescue experts.
Rescuers prepare for the descent (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The most challenging part of the rescue operation is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths, Yusuf Ogrenecek of the speleological federation previously said.
“This is one of the most difficult cave rescue operations in the world,” Recep Salci, the head of the rescue department for Turkey’s national disaster relief organisation, told the New York Times on Friday.
Reports suggest Mr Dickey has lost three litres of blood.
Rescue teams join efforts to free the American scientist trapped inside a Turkish cave after falling ill (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)While teams of medics have given him blood transfusions, other cavers have used explosives to widen narrow passages to make space for the stretcher to get past.
According to a fundraiser set up to support the rescue operation: "The ill caver is a well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself. He has participated in caving expeditions in many karst areas of the world for many years. In addition to his activities as a speleologist, he is also the secretary of the ECRA medical committee and an instructor for cave rescue organisations in the USA."
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