Friday, October 25

Cave rescue mission to save lots of ailing researcher caught 3,000ft underground may take 10 days

Rescuing a caver who turned ailing 3,000ft underground greater than per week in the past may take one other 10 days, a search chief says. 

Rescue groups in Turkey efficiently carried American researcher Mark Dickey to the 2300ft (700m) mark on Sunday. He will relaxation there earlier than they proceed the journey to the floor.

The 40-year-old began vomiting on 2 September due to abdomen bleeding whereas on an expedition within the Morca collapse southern Turkey.

Mark Dickey
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Mark Dickey is an skilled caver

The painstaking rescue entails groups pulling his stretcher by means of slim passages and vertical shafts to the floor.

This may take as much as 10 days, in line with Recep Salci, head of the search and rescue division of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate, AFAD. If his situation improves, the mission may very well be quicker.

Doctors, paramedics and skilled cavers rushed to Turkey to assist with the mission. Turkish authorities mentioned 190 individuals from eight nations are concerned, 153 of them search and rescue consultants.

Rescuers try to move a rock in Morca Cave, as they take part in a rescue operation to reach U.S. caver Mark Dickey who fell ill and became trapped some 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) underground, near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey September 5, 2023. REUTERS/Agnes Berentes NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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Rescuers attempt to transfer a rock as they clear as passage for the rescue mission

Rescuers descend to the entrance of Morca Cave as they take part in a rescue operation to reach U.S. caver Mark Dickey who fell ill and became trapped some 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) underground, near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Rescuers descend to the doorway of Morca Cave

Rescuers have arrange small medical base camps at varied ranges alongside the shaft, offering Mr Dickey a possibility to relaxation throughout arduous extrication.

One of essentially the most tough duties of cave rescue operations is widening the slim cave passages to permit stretcher traces to move by means of at low depths, Yusuf Ogrenecek, of the Speleological Federation of Turkey, mentioned.

“Stretcher lines are labour intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours,” he mentioned.

Rescuers may also must navigate by means of mud and water at low temperatures and take care of the psychological toll of staying inside a cave for lengthy intervals of time.

Read extra:
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‘Challenging’ cave rescue effort beneath manner in Turkey

A map showing the cave where American Mark Dickey is trapped
U.S. caver Mark Dickey is seen in Morca Cave, days before he fell ill and became trapped some 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) underground, near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey August 28, 2023. REUTERS/Agnes Berentes NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
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Mark Dickey is seen in Morca Cave days earlier than he fell ailing and have become trapped.

Teams together with a health care provider and three or 4 others take turns staying with Mr Dickey always.

On Saturday, Mersin governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan mentioned Mr Dickey was in a secure situation.

“We have received information that his condition is getting better, thanks to medical intervention,” he mentioned.

Mr Dickey is an teacher with the US National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC). He is very regarded within the worldwide speleological (the examine of cave exploration) group and has beforehand taken half in rescue missions.

He was co-leading an expedition to seek out and map a brand new passage within the Turkish cave, the third deepest within the nation, when he fell ailing.

Content Source: information.sky.com