 Significant progress has been made to rescue an American man who has been trapped in Turkey's third deepest cave complex for more than a week. Over 150 people have been involved in efforts to save Mark Dickey after he developed stomach problems in the Morca Cave on 2 September. He has now been lifted around 1,000m (3,280ft) and is more than halfway out. Rescuers hope he will reach the surface sometime on Monday evening or on Tuesday local time. "Mark reached the last 180 meters at 16:26 CET [1526 GMT]," the Turkish Caving Federation, which is involved in the rescue operation, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. "Now he will rest here for a while." Mr Dickey was co-leading a team to map a new passage in the cave when he began to suffer from gastrointestinal bleeding on 2 September. His condition later improved after he was given a blood transfusion. He has now been strapped to a stretcher and is being carried out. This involves navigating through tight rock tunnels and explosives have had to be used at the narrowest points, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner. Image source, Italian Alpine Rescue Image caption, Italian Alpine rescuers (CNSAS) carry Mark Dickey on stretcher The medical coordinator for the mission, Tulga Sener, on Monday described Mr Dickey's general health as "very good", despite him being unable to eat. "He is being fed intravenously all the way through and at the camps in between and the necessary liquids and medications are being given for his stomach and his general health condition," Mr Sener said. While Mr Dickey has now made it most of the way out of the cave, the remaining distance may be difficult to navigate. "It's a very particular phase of cave here because there are so many slopes, it's a bit tricky," said Giuseppe Conti from the European Cave Rescue Associatio){kind=link}
Significant progress has been made to rescue an American man who has been trapped in Turkey’s third deepest cave complex for more than a week.
Over 150 people have been involved in efforts to save Mark Dickey after he developed stomach problems in the Morca Cave on 2 September.
He has now been lifted around 1,000m (3,280ft) and is more than halfway out.
Rescuers hope he will reach the surface sometime on Monday evening or on Tuesday local time.
“Mark reached the last 180 meters at 16:26 CET [1526 GMT],” the Turkish Caving Federation, which is involved in the rescue operation, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.