An American researcher was B次元官网网址渄oing wellB次元官网网址� at a Turkish hospital, officials said Tuesday, after out of a cave where he fell seriously ill and became trapped 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance for over a week.
Rescuers from Turkey and across Europe cheered and clapped as Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver, emerged from Morca cave in southern TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 Taurus Mountains strapped to a stretcher at 12:37 a.m. local time Tuesday. He was whisked to the hospital in the nearby city of Mersin in a helicopter.
Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. What caused his condition remained unclear.
Lying on the stretcher surrounded by reporters shortly after his rescue, he described his nine-day ordeal as a B次元官网网址渃razy, crazy adventure.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t is amazing to be above ground again,B次元官网网址� he said. A well-known cave researcher and a cave rescuer who had participated in many international expeditions, Dickey thanked the international caving community, Turkish cavers and Hungarian Cave Rescue, among others.
Dickey, who is from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, was part of an expedition to map the Morca Cave, TurkeyB次元官网网址檚 third deepest, when he became sick. As he was too frail to climb out himself, cave rescue teams from Europe scrambled to help save him, mounting a that involved pulling him up the caveB次元官网网址檚 steep vertical sections and navigating through mud and water at low temperatures in the horizontal sections.
Rescuers had to widen some of the caveB次元官网网址檚 narrow passages, install ropes to pull him up vertical shafts on a stretcher and set up temporary camps along the way before the operation could begin.
B次元官网网址淚t was great to see him finally get out because it was very dire in the early days of this rescue,B次元官网网址� Carl Heitmeyer of the New Jersey Initial Response Team and a friend of DickeyB次元官网网址檚 told NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭odayB次元官网网址� show.
Asked whether he believes Dickey would return to caving, Heitmeyer said: B次元官网网址淚 hope his momB次元官网网址檚 not watching, but I would bet on it.B次元官网网址�
Among those who rushed to the Taurus Mountains was Dr. Zsofia Zador, a caving enthusiast and medical rescuer from the Hungarian rescue team, who was among the first to treat Dickey inside the cave.
Zador, an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist from Budapest, was on her way to the hospital to start her early morning shift on Sept. 2, when she got news of DickeyB次元官网网址檚 condition.
The 34-year-old quickly arranged for a colleague to take her shift and rushed to gather her caving gear and medical equipment, before taking a plane to Turkey to join the rescue mission, she told The Associated Press by telephone from the camp near the entrance of the cave.
B次元官网网址淗e was relieved, and he was hopeful,B次元官网网址� she said when asked to describe DickeyB次元官网网址檚 reaction when he saw her in the cave. B次元官网网址淗e was quite happy. We are good friends.B次元官网网址�
Zador said Dickey was hypovolemic B次元官网网址� or was suffering from loss of fluid and blood B次元官网网址� but said he was in a B次元官网网址渟table conditionB次元官网网址� by the time she reached him because paramedics had B次元官网网址渢reated him quite well.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t was a tricky situation because sometimes he was quite stable and it felt like he could get out on his own, but he could (deteriorate) once again,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淟uckily he didnB次元官网网址檛 lose any consciousness and he saw the situation through.B次元官网网址�
Around 190 experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey took part in the rescue, including doctors, paramedics and experienced cavers. Teams comprised of a doctor and three to four other rescuers took turns staying by his side at all times.
Zador said she had been involved in cave rescues before but DickeyB次元官网网址檚 rescue was the B次元官网网址渓ongestB次元官网网址� she experienced.
Dickey said after his rescue that he had started to throw up large quantities of blood inside the cave.
B次元官网网址淢y consciousness started to get harder to hold on to, and I reached the point where I thought B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 not going to live,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he told reporters.
A statement from the Mersin governorB次元官网网址檚 office said DickeyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址済eneral healthB次元官网网址� condition was B次元官网网址済oodB次元官网网址�, without providing further details.
The Italian National Alpine and Speleological Corps said the rescue operation took more than 100 rescuers from around 10 counties a total of 60 hours. B次元官网网址淢ark Dickey was in the cave for roughly 500 hours,B次元官网网址� it said.
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