U.S. explorer rescued from Turkish cave

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Rescue workers evacuate Mark Dickey from a cave in Turkey. Associated Press/Photo by Mert Gokhan Koc/DIA Images

American speleologist Mark Dickey fell ill earlier this month when he was more than 3,600 feet below ground in the Morca sinkhole in Turkey. Dickey received medical care in the cave while rescuers spent days widening narrow passages to accommodate a stretcher. Paramedics and other experienced cavers on Tuesday transported him back to the surface. An international rescue team of about 200 people participated in the evacuation.

Why was Dickey in the cave? He and other researchers were on an expedition to map the cave. It is the third deepest cave in Turkey and reaches depths of up to 4,186 feet. Dickey is an instructor with the National Cave Rescue Commission and has explored caves in 20 American states and 10 countries, according to his nonprofit organization, Caving Academy.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Angela Lu Fulton’s report on a Christian boy rescued from a cave in Thailand in 2018.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.