FRESH AIR

New Jersey Man Rescued After 9 Days Trapped in Turkish Cave

Mark Dickey, a New Jersey native, was more than 3,000 feet underground in Morca Cave when he fell ill and was unable to exit on his own.

An American explorer was pulled out of the depths of a Turkish cave early Tuesday, bringing to an end an ordeal that saw him trapped more than 3,400 feet underground for more than a week. Mark Dickey, 40, was leading an expedition in Morca Cave when he fell ill with intestinal problems on Sept. 2, rendering him unable to reascend by his own power. Doctors and hundreds of rescuers rushed to the cave system—the country’s third deepest—and, once his condition had improved, kicked off a bid to hoist him out. After volunteers worked for five days to clear a path to the surface, Dickey was lifted out in multiple phases, ending with his emergence from the cave’s mouth at 12:37 a.m., according to rescuers. “We congratulate all those who have contributed!” the Speleological Federation of Turkey tweeted. The cause of Dickey’s illness remains unclear.