A man who is trapped 3,400ft inside a cave has shared an emotional video after being 'close to the edge'.
Mark Dickey, 40, was on an expedition in the Morca cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains when he became rather unwell with stomach bleeding.
The European Association of Cave Rescuers said that Dickey was on the expedition with three other Americans, with rescue teams subsequently setting off to help them.
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The international rescue team, which comprised of Turkish authorities and more than 150 cave rescue experts, managed to safely remove Dickey from his location after he experienced the emergency.
However, in a video obtained by the Associated Press, Dickey admitted that he was 'very close to the edge' and that the team that came to rescue him 'saved his life'.
In the video recorded well below the surface, Dickey said: "Hi. Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand meters.
"The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface.
"We’re still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now it’s a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I don’t quite know what’s happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge."
Throughout the week, rescuers were able to send six units of blood as well as medication - something that has led to his condition improving.
The rescue effort all started on Wednesday, as the large team set up rope lines - though it is unclear when they actually embarked on the complex mission.
Local authorities have described the cave system as extremely narrow with many twists and turns, obviously making it extremely difficult to navigate.
It is expected that a person in good health would be able to exit it from where Dickey currently is in approximately 15 hours, though the cave explorer is obviously unwell.
Experts have said it will be a challenge to successfully remove Dickey, indicating that a stretcher may be required to complete his exit from the cave.
As for now, communication with Dickey takes anywhere between five to seven hours and is carried out by runners.
As per AP, the runners go from Dickey to a camp below the surface where a telephone line is set up to speak with the surface set up above.
Topics: News, World News
Callum Jones