The US researcher trapped in a Turkish cave has been rescued

Mark Dickey, an American researcher was rescued from the depths of a Turkish cave called Morca, after falling ill and being trapped inside for more than a week.

According to Turkey's TUMAF caving organization, a researcher from the US has been rescued from a southern Turkish cave where he had gotten stuck after becoming ill more than a week ago.

After spending more than a week inside the Morca cave in Turkey's Taurus mountains with a serious illness, Mark Dickey, 40, was successfully rescued on Tuesday at 12:37am local time (21:37 GMT Monday). His survival sparked an international rescue operation from a depth of 1,040 meters (more than 3,400 feet) inside the cave.

The federation stated that Dickey was flown to the hospital at 01:50 local time (22:50 GMT on Monday).

The researcher was rescued from the third-deepest cave in Turkey after nine days of labor by over 150 responders from Turkey, Croatia, Italy, and other nations.

As part of an international research mission to study the 1,276 meters (4,186 feet) deep Morca cave system, Dickey, an experienced cave diver, apparently fell unwell with gastrointestinal hemorrhage and was too weak to exit the cave on his own.

Rescue teams frequently halted at makeshift camps that had been constructed up along their escape route with the use of a stretcher.

Debbie and Andy, Dickey's parents, expressed their gratitude to the Turkish government, the international caving community, and medical professionals for helping save their son.