LONDON — The American caver trapped underground in Turkey has been hoisted to safety.
Mark Dickey, 40, had been trapped underground since Aug. 31, when he fell ill more than 3,400 feet below the surface, according to the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a group he leads.
A medical team takes care of American caver Mark Dickey, center, 40, inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
Marton Kovacs/Hungarian Cave Rescue Service via AP
Dickey was extracted from the cave around 12:37 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the Turkish Caving Federation announced, describing the operation as “successful.”
“We congratulate all those who contributed!” the caving organization said.
The New Jersey Initial Response Team thanked the Turkish Ministry of National Defence, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the European Cave Rescue Association for their efforts in rescuing Dickey, as well as the cave rescuers for “their hard core caving ability,” the organization told ABC News in a statement.
Video taken from the scene showed Dickey lying on a stretcher as he was lifted through the cave 12 days after he became trapped.
A rescue team carried Dickey on a stretcher passed through a rest camp about 1,000 feet underground, international caving officials said on Monday. They rested in the area around the last 180 meters before he was pulled out.
Rescuers work at 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 3,280 ft underground, near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey, Sept. 10, 2023.
Umit Bektas/Reuters
“The fact that our son, Mark Dickey, has been moved out of Morca Cave in stable condition is indescribably relieving and fills us with incredible joy. It is, we know, an event that all involved in the extensive rescue effort worked so significantly hard for,” his parents told ABC News in a statement.
“Mark is strong and we believe in his strength, but fully knew that he was in dire need of tremendous and immediate support. We are so very thankful and grateful that the support he needed was given to him and that the first medical rescue team to arrive reached him when they did,” his parents said.
A team that includes medical staff began an evacuation late last week, after his condition improved enough to move him, caving officials said. Volunteers have been working to clear a path to the surface for the past five days.
When the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service arrived on Sunday, Dickey was in serious, life-threatening condition, officials said. Life-saving medical intervention included high doses of medication for his stomach and a blood transfusion.
Dickey’s condition improved enough for him to return to his feet following the intervention, rescuers said.
Members of the CNSAS, Italian alpine and speleological rescuers, carry a stretcher with American researcher Mark Dickey during a rescue operation in the Morca cave, near Anamur, southern Turkey, Sept. 11, 2023.
CNSAS via AP
The team carrying the stretcher had passed a bivouac site about 500 meters, or 1,640 feet, below the surface about 12 hours earlier, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
“The medical status of the casualty is stable,” the association had said in a statement on Sunday evening. “The next planned stop is at -300 m. The members of the different rescue teams are in a good physical condition.”
Members of the CNSAS, Italian alpine and speleological rescuers, carry a stretcher with American researcher Mark Dickey during a rescue operation in the Morca cave, near Anamur, southern Turkey, Sept. 11, 2023.
CNSAS via AP
“He has not had any bleeding or vomiting for at least 2 days,” Sener said in a statement posted in Turkish on social media. “All vital signs, pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, state of consciousness, cooperation are all completely healthy.”
Chairperson of ECRA Technical Commission Giuseppe Conti and Head of Turkey’s Caving Federation Bulent Genc work on a map as they take part in a rescue operation to reach U.S. caver Mark Dickey near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey, Sept. 10, 2023.
Umit Bektas/Reuters
Dickey had been assisting in the exploration of the cave when he “suddenly became ill with intestinal problems that rapidly progressed into life-threatening bleeding and vomiting,” the New Jersey Initial Response Team said in a statement announcing the his situation. Dickey serves as the leader of that group, a collection of volunteers who specialize in cave and mine rescues.
ABC News’ Doug Lantz and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.
