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Efforts are underway to save an American scientist who has been trapped for a nearly a week in a Turkish cave almost half a mile underground after he suffered a medical emergency.
Mark Dickey, 40, is a veteran cave diver who experienced severe gastrointestinal bleeding on Sept. 2 while he was on an expedition in the Morca cave, located in the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey. As a result of that episode, he couldn’t eat and was partially unconscious for three days before a pair of doctors gave him a blood transfusion after they entered the cave, reports the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps.
Dickey can be seen in a video, letting people know that he is OK.
“I’m doing well,” he said. “I’m up, I’m alert, I’m talking, but I’m not healed on the inside yet, so I’m going to need a lot of help to get out of here.”
About 150 people from different countries have joined the rescue operation, in what is being called one of the biggest cave rescue missions in history.
“I want to thank everyone that’s down here,” Dickey said.
“It is amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” he said.
The Morca cave is the third deepest in Turkey, reaching more than 4,000 feet below ground, with narrow passages and caverns filled with water.
“It’s at the top of the game of difficult cave systems,” Carl Heitmeyer, cave diver and Dickey’s friend, told NBC News.
“I don’t expect Mark on the surface for four to eight days,” he added.
However, a spokesperson for the Turkish Disaster & Emergency Management Agency had a more promising outlook.
“We will make sure he will be taken out to the surface in three to four days,” the spokesperson told NBC News.
Another potential pitfall is Dickey’s health. If he has to be taken out of the cave on a stretcher instead of walking, it could prolong the timeline and make it even more challenging.
As rescuers continue to help, Dickey feels grateful to have a team working on his behalf.
“We take care of our own, and it’s really special to be taken care of,” he said.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com