[imagesource:befunky]

A trapped caver awaiting rescue after becoming seriously ill more than 1.2 kilometres underground has appeared in a new video saying he had been “close to the edge” before the arrival of vital medical supplies.

Mark Dickey, 40, suffered gastrointestinal bleeding on Saturday inside the Morca Cave in southern Turkey, which is around 4100ft (1276m) deep.

The US man fell ill close to the bottom of the crevice at 1120m and was later moved to a campsite at a 1040m depth. The caver sent a video to rescuers saying, “I’m not healed on the inside yet, so I’m going to need a lot of help to get out of here.”

Dickey is an instructor with the US National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), who is highly regarded in the international speleological (the study of cave exploration) community, and has previously taken part in rescue missions.

He was co-leading an expedition to find and map a new passage in the Turkish cave, the third deepest in the country, when he fell ill. It takes around 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface of this particular cave – which includes narrow winding passages and several rappels (rope descents down very steep slopes) – in ideal conditions.

The international rescue effort is said to be one of the largest cave rescue operations in the world, both logistically and technically. It involves 150 people from across Europe including Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Bulgaria.

Communication takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Mr Dickey to the camp below the surface, where wire communication to talk to the surface has been set up.

Mr Dickey has his fiancée and fellow caver, Jessica, at his side, according to a statement by his parents.

Video footage of the stuck cavers was released by Turkish authorities, showing Dickey in surprisingly good spirits for someone trapped a kilometre underground.

[source:skynews]