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Rescue teams begin extraction mission for Mark Dickey, Westchester County man trapped 3,000 feet down in cave in Turkey

Rescuers begin mission to extract explorer from deep inside cave in Turkey
Rescuers begin mission to extract explorer from deep inside cave in Turkey 00:25

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -- Rescue teams have launched an extraction mission to get a Westchester County man out of a cave in Turkey.

Mark Dickey is seriously ill with gastrointestinal bleeding.

Medical teams have been treating him while more than 3,000 feet deep in a cave.

Now, a days-long mission is underway to get him back to the surface.

"The reality is there's going to be a lot of vertical challenges where they may have to haul him up 10 feet, transfer him over a couple of feet and then haul him up again, so this is a very slow process that is time-consuming and that they have to be careful as they do that,' rescue expert Greg Moore said.

After going in and out of consciousness for days, Dickey is now in stable condition.

Rescuers plan to use explosives to expand some of the more narrow passages.

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