Rescue Underway to Save American Trapped in Turkish Cave

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Facts

  • A team of around 150 rescuers are working to rescue Mark Dickey, an ailing American researcher trapped in southern Turkey's Morca cave complex.1
  • Dickey reportedly fell ill with gastrointestinal bleeding over 1K meters (3.3K ft) below ground level in the country's third-deepest cave on Sept. 2.2
  • On Thursday, a team of Italian cavers and medical personnel reached Dickey and stabilized him. The rescue operation is expected to last at least four days.2
  • Recep Salci, the head of Turkey's AFAD disaster management authority, stated that explosives will need to be used to widen passages in the cave, adding, 'It takes 12 hours for a caver to get down and 16 hours to climb up.'3
  • According to the European Cave Rescue Association, rescues at Dickey's depth are 'very rare,' 'extremely difficult,' and need several experienced cave rescuers. The rescue team includes experts from Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and Poland.4
  • As of Saturday, vital signs of the 40-year-old are normal, while his condition is stable.5

Sources: 1CNN, 2Guardian, 3Reuters, 4Washington Post and 5Abc news.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by USA Today. In an inspiring moment of cooperation, rescuers from around the world are working with Turkey to perform a daring rescue at perilous depths. In an age of strife and division, the world's top caving and rescue experts from disparate nations have come together to share their expertise and save the life of an accomplished caver. If Dickey's life is saved, it will be due to a selfless, multinational effort.
  • Narrative B, as provided by New York Times. While we should all hope for Dickey's survival, the irony that the nations of Europe will come together to save the life of one American while disregarding the lives of countless migrants who perish every day is not lost on the world community. Governments in the EU have left migrants to die in a watery grave rather than dispatch top rescuers to save them. If only Europe could act with such urgency with migrants as they do with the Dickey case.