Turkey Morca cave rescue: American Mark Dickey trapped underground shares emotional video as rescue effort drags on

On Thursday, the European Cave Rescue Association provided an update to Mark Dickey’s condition and the possibility to exiting him from the cave.

“The patient’s medical condition is stabilized. With support, he could move slowly [sic] on his own and is feeling better,” the press release said. “Technical teams are actually preparing the cave for transporting him out smoothly. As soon as the doctors are giving their permission, the transport will start.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to benefit the rescue teams involved in helping extract American Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey.

“This fundraiser is started on behalf of the National Cave Rescue Commission (for whom Mark is also an instructor) and will be used to be distributed to the rescue teams to cover the logistical costs of aiding him out of the cave.”

Extracting Mark Dickey from the Morca cave is already a challenging feat.

But to make matters more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is very limited.

Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.

As of Thursday afternoon, Mark Dickey’s condition was improving and doctors were considering if he still needs a stretcher to leave, the Speleogical Federation of Turkey said in a press release.

Mr Dickey initially was determined to need a stretcher to leave after experiencing gastrointestinal bleeding.

The expedition that Mark Dickey set about on in the Morca cave was intended to help set up camp, survey the cave and collection information, a friend of Mr Dickey’s told The Associated Press.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Mr Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

“Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission that’s leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself,” Mr Hanley said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

While on an exploration of the Morca cave in Turkey, Mark Dickey fell ill, causing the mission team to stop and alert authorities in the hopes to recieve medical attention.

It began with severe gastric pain that was escalating quickly.

Though there was initial hope that Mr Dickey could exit the cave on his own, the pain turned into gastrointestinal bleeding.

The Speleological Federation of Turkey sent a medical team and six units of blood in the following days in the hopes of stabilising Mr Dickey’s medical situation.

While doctors worked to assist Mr Dickey, cave experts began putting their teams together to figure out how to rescue Mr Dickey through one of the deepest, and very complicated, cave systems.

“A long and challenging rescue operation is initiated to carry Mark out on a stretcher,” the ECRA said in a statement.

To tackle the issue of rescuing Mark Dickey, the team of international experts has divided up the depths of the cave and assigned it to a specific team to figure out a solution for that specific area.

At multiple very narrow spots, a demolition team will need to widen them so Mr Dickey can pass through on a stretcher. They will also need to set up several camp spots on the way up to continuously monitor Mr Dickey and give him and his team sections to rest in.

To make the matter more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is limited. Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.

Hungarian Cave Rescue Service member, Marton Kovacs, told CBS News that they were also addressing the danger of falling rocks in several places. The Hungarian team is working between the 590 to 1180-feet depths

Mr Kovacs said Mr Dickey’s exit will take several days and they hope to begin on Saturday or Sunday depending on Mr Dickey’s condition.