American caver needs rescue in Turkey

herr_oberst · 09-07-2023, 09:15 AM

Yikes! Good luck to the team. This looks tricky...hang on, Mark!

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkey-cave-rescue-mark-dickey-american-speleologist-morca-cave/

masraum · 09-07-2023, 09:47 AM

Holy carp! emphasis added by me.

Quote:

Turkish and international cave rescue experts were working Thursday to save an American speleologist trapped at a depth of more than 3,280 feet in a cave in southern Turkey after he became ill. Mark Dickey, 40, became sick during an international expedition in Morca cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains, in the Mersin province, according to the European Cave Rescue Association. He has gastrointestinal bleeding and has been unable to leave the cave on his own, the association said on its website.

It described Dickey as "a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself" who is well known for his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association's medical committee.

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 4,186-foot-deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) before becoming sick, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE were working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.

Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey told The Associated Press that Dickey's condition had stabilized, and that he was in "good spirits."

"Mark's condition continues to improve," the federation tweeted. "Doctors will decide whether it is possible for him to leave without a stretcher."

Mark's condition has continued to improve, according to this evening's news,the bleeding has stopped and he is able to walk on his own.

Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

I can't imagine the logistics ...........and the real life horror in the pitch black.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66742540

Seahawk · 09-07-2023, 01:50 PM

Merged.

I could not do it.

When I was a white water rafting guide, there was a small cave on the Stanislaus River we would hike the clients to.

I never went in.

masraum · 09-07-2023, 01:58 PM

I think having bloody squirts would be far scarier than being trapped in a cave.

The only caving accidents that seem terrifying to me are the ones where someone has to squeeze through a hole to get to the next area. I remember reading about one that got posted here to the board, I think, where an experienced caver was exploring, tried to squeeze through a hole, going down, head first, and got stuck. I think he was with his brother or something. They called for help and help came, but they weren't able to get him unstuck, and he died wedged head down in a hole in a cave.

Crowbob · 09-07-2023, 02:14 PM

Note to self: next time I see a cave, keep walking…

pwd72s · 09-07-2023, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Note to self: next time I see a cave, keep walking…

Good idea...Bears!

flatbutt · 09-07-2023, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

I think having bloody squirts would be far scarier than being trapped in a cave.

The only caving accidents that seem terrifying to me are the ones where someone has to squeeze through a hole to get to the next area. I remember reading about one that got posted here to the board, I think, where an experienced caver was exploring, tried to squeeze through a hole, going down, head first, and got stuck. I think he was with his brother or something. They called for help and help came, but they weren't able to get him unstuck, and he died wedged head down in a hole in a cave.

oh how terrifying

masraum · 09-07-2023, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

oh how terrifying

Terrifying and super tragic. 20-something med student, married, second kid on the way. They had him freed and then the cable/pulley system failed and he got restuck. He was stuck upside down for 30 hours before he finally passed. I think he'd been caving with his brother, and they separated to explore or something. I read about it a while back. I don't really have much interest in reading about it again due to the tragic nature of it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34157005

Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

Don't know how many Pelican members have ever been rappelling and hard core Caving through tight squeezes? I have in New Zealand, but its Serious topic, joking aside, he's 3/4 of a mile underground, and even in healthy shape they said it's a 10-12 hour climb in or out for rescuers.

Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

Want even more risks, GRINS, I scuba dive flooded Caves in Cenotes in Playa Del Carmen is a dream like experience...................all the features were formed during the last ice age as dry caves when the Sea Level was 200 foot lower than it is today, so now you "fly/swim/glide" through the VERY fragile overhead environment. Here's a Cave Dive Video I shot deep in the Mayan jungle.

LWJ · 09-07-2023, 06:47 PM

Bad kebab?

unclebilly · unclebilly's Garage

I wonder if it’s diverticulitis or something worse… either way, it’s painful and not fun. I hope he gets out ok.

I enjoy spelunking but am not a fan of birthing canal type passages.

Seahawk · 09-08-2023, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Don't know how many Pelican members have ever been rappelling and hard core Caving through tight squeezes? I have in New Zealand,

I wish I could but with my phobia I'd be doing the dive/cave carving in the fetal position.

I rappelled a lot in my youth, but always on the OUTSIDE of the mountain.

Crowbob · 09-08-2023, 04:49 AM

This is simply irrational and very close to insane.

To pit oneself against the inevitable horror of being trapped inside a mountain is inexcusable. What do these people think is going to happen?

Some, probably most, get normal and quit this nonsense. Some don’t, obviously.

masraum · 09-08-2023, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I wonder if it’s diverticulitis or something worse… either way, it’s painful and not fun. I hope he gets out ok.

I enjoy spelunking but am not a fan of birthing canal type passages.

Yep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I wish I could but with my phobia I'd be doing the dive/cave carving in the fetal position.

I rappelled a lot in my youth, but always on the OUTSIDE of the mountain.

LMAO

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowbob

This is simply irrational and very close to insane.

To pit oneself against the inevitable horror of being trapped inside a mountain is inexcusable. What do these people think is going to happen?

Some, probably most, get normal and quit this nonsense. Some don’t, obviously.

Meh. We don't know that this guy did anything super crazy other than going REALLY far into the cave. Lots of folks do that, and it's likely rarely a problem. The issue here is that the guy got sick, and that's what the issue was. If he hadn't gotten sick, he and everything would have been fine. People are explorers, some more than others. Any time you're going to explore, there are risks. What he was doing is probably far less risky than driving a car on a track.

HobieMarty · 09-08-2023, 05:51 AM

Ugh, I wouldn't go in a cave unless it was a park type situation like the Marianna Caverns in Marianna, Florida. I've been swimming/snorkeling at Vortex Spring in Ponce de Leon, Florida. The spring is 58ft to the floor and there is a cave that divers go in. No thanks!!! I did swim down 20 ft to a training box once, stupid idea. Take a deep breath, swim your butt off straight down and go inside the box into a bubble of air, stayed in there a few minutes with two friends, take as deep a breath as you can and swim your butt off to the surface. Never again.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

Crowbob · 09-08-2023, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

Yep.

LMAO

Meh. We don't know that this guy did anything super crazy other than going REALLY far into the cave. Lots of folks do that, and it's likely rarely a problem. The issue here is that the guy got sick, and that's what the issue was. If he hadn't gotten sick, he and everything would have been fine. People are explorers, some more than others. Any time you're going to explore, there are risks. What he was doing is probably far less risky than driving a car on a track.

Interesting notion that the track is more risky than squeezing through a crack half a mile underground. My intuition says that the percentage of people injured/killed at the track is much lower than the percentage of people injured/killed spelunking. Just my guess, though. The rarity of problems spelunking is because spelunking itself is rare.

masraum · 09-08-2023, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Interesting notion that the track is more risky than squeezing through a crack half a mile underground. My intuition says that the percentage of people injured/killed at the track is much lower than the percentage of people injured/killed spelunking. Just my guess, though. The rarity of problems spelunking is because spelunking itself is rare.

My thought was more around actual racing, but track driving is also dangerous. I think we all remember Jack O and his first car. I think he was physically unscathed. And then someone just in the past week or two had a thread titled "I just bought wheels from a dead racer".

Presumably, racing is much more dangerous than DE situations due to higher speeds, higher limits, and the desire to win. The big thing that offsets the danger these days is superior safety gear.

Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

"anything can kill you when you run out of talent"