U.S. caver Mark Dickey, on a stretcher, is carried out of the Morca cave as his rescue operation comes to a successful end near Anamur in Mersin province, southern Turkey September 12, 2023.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsISTANBUL, Sept 14 (Reuters) - An American caver rescued after being trapped underground in southern Turkey for 11 days said on Thursday he was blessed to be alive after suffering a gastrointestinal bleed while 1,040 metres deep - but that he would go on exploring caves.
Mark Dickey, 40, was rescued early on Tuesday after being trapped in the Morca cave in Mersin province's Taurus Mountains.
More than 150 cave rescuers from Turkey, Croatia, Italy and other countries worked to rescue Dickey from Turkey's third-deepest cave, and Dickey said he had never lost hope.
"Will I go back to Morca cave?
Persons:
caver Mark Dickey, Umit, Mark Dickey, It's, Dickey, Will, Ali Kucukgocmen, Daren Butler, Kevin Liffey
Organizations:
REUTERS, Rights, Mersin City Hospital, Thomson
Locations:
Anamur, Mersin province, Turkey, Rights ISTANBUL, American, Mersin, Croatia, Italy, Turkey's