ISTANBUL: Turkish and international cave rescue experts are working to save an American speleologist trapped at a depth of more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in a cave in southern Turkiye after he became ill.
Mark Dickey, 40, became sick during an international expedition in Morca cave in southern Turkiye’s Taurus Mountains, within the Mersin province, according to the European Cave Rescue Association. He has gastrointestinal bleeding and has been unable to leave the cave on his own, the association said on its website.
It described Dickey as “a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself” who is well known for his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association’s medical committee.
Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276-meter (4,186-feet) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) before becoming sick at around 1,000 meters deep, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkiye.
Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.
Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkiye told The Associated Press that Dickey’s condition has stabilized, and that he is in “good spirits.”
“Mark’s condition continues to improve,” the federation tweeted. “Doctors will decide whether it is possible for him to leave without a stretcher.”
The rescue efforts are made up of more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks. But it could take shorter depending on the situation.
A team of rescuers from Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkiye on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for his safe extraction. Narrow passages are being widened to accommodate a stretcher, and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.
The rescue teams, which are from Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia and Poland, hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.
The cave has been divided into several sections, with each country’s rescue team being responsible for one section.
The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Dickey’s location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition. An additional Hungarian team of 15-20 rescuers will eave Hungary on Thursday evening on a military plane provided by the government and arrive at the rescue site on Friday morning, Kovacs said.
Six mountain rescuers, including two medics, have left for Antalya to help in the rescue operation, Jerzy Siodlak, the head of Poland’s mountain rescue service, GOPR, said Wednesday on Radio RMF24.
Thirteen other rescuers from southern Poland are also ready to join the rescue operation, GOPR authorities said. Siodlak noted the operation will be a challenging one given the condition of the American and the need to keep him medically fit for the rescue operation in difficult conditions.
He also stressed the need to provide the rescuers with light and communication possibilities at the depth the American is at.
Rescue efforts underway for American caver who fell ill while exploring cave in Turkiye
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Rescue efforts underway for American caver who fell ill while exploring cave in Turkiye
- Mark Dickey, 40, became sick during an international expedition in Morca cave in southern Turkiye’s Taurus Mountains
- Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276-meter deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association before becoming sick at around 1,000 meters deep
Syria and neighbors urge Israel to stop bombings
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.
Israeli officials have also described Syria’s new Islamist authorities as jihadists and claimed to defend the country’s Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that “Israel’s expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria.”
“This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region,” Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Turkiye.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that “our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks.”
The Israeli strikes are “calculated escalations aimed at destabilising Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict,” Shaibani said, decrying “systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations.”
He called on the international community to put Israel under “increased pressure” to halt the bombings.
Jordan’s top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil “will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction.”
Israel urges ICC to drop arrest warrants against PM
- In ruling that made headlines, ICC found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for war crimes, crimes against humanity
THE HAGUE: Israel has asked the International Criminal Court to dismiss its arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant while ICC judges reconsider complex jurisdictional questions.
In a 14-page document dated May 9 but posted on the ICC website on Monday, Israel argued the warrants issued in November were null and void while judges weigh a previous Israeli challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case.
In a ruling that made headlines around the world, the ICC found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
The court also issued a war crimes warrant against top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif over the October 7 attacks that sparked the conflict. The case against Deif was dropped in February after his death.
Israel, not one of the ICC’s 125 members, challenged the court’s jurisdiction but judges on the ICC’s “Pre-Trial Chamber” dismissed the bid and issued the arrest warrants.
But last month, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber ruled the Pre-Trial Chamber was wrong to dismiss the challenge and ordered it to look again in detail at Israel’s arguments.
Israel says now that the arrest warrants should not stay in place while this complex and lengthy process is ongoing.
“Unless and until the Pre-Trial Chamber has ruled on the substance of the jurisdiction challenge... the prerequisite jurisdictional finding does not exist,” Israel argued.
“It follows that the arrest warrants issued on 21 November 2024 must be withdrawn or vacated pending the Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination of Israel’s jurisdictional challenge.”
Israel and its allies reacted furiously to the warrants issued on November 21, Netanyahu describing it as an “anti-Semitic decision” and then US president Joe Biden slamming it as “outrageous.”
Technically, any member of the ICC is required to arrest Netanyahu if he travels there, although the court has no independent power to enforce warrants.
Israel argued in its submission that Netanyahu could theoretically be arrested while the court was still weighing whether it had jurisdiction in the case.
“Depriving persons of their liberty on the basis of an arrest warrant issued in the absence of the necessary legal pre-conditions is an egregious violation of fundamental human rights and of the rule of law,” Israel argued.
Allowing the warrants to stay in place during the deliberations “is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of the court,” said Israel.
Syrian, Turkish foreign ministers address security issues in Ankara
- Officials convened during trilateral meeting involving Syria, Turkiye and Jordan
LONDON: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Ankara on Monday.
The officials convened during trilateral talks, which included Jordan’s foreign minister, to address joint security and economic issues in the region.
The ministers discussed various issues, including Israeli actions in the southern Syrian Arab Republic since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, as well as coordination with Arab states and the international community to support Syria’s security, stability and sovereignty.
Emir of Kuwait, Lebanese president discuss historic opportunity to shape future
- The meeting at Bayan Palace in Kuwait addressed the recent developments in Lebanon
- Officials highlighted that Lebanon has a historic opportunity to shape its future
LONDON: Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met with Lebanese President Gen. Joseph Aoun on Monday morning to discuss ways to enhance collaboration between their countries in various sectors.
The meeting at Bayan Palace in Kuwait addressed the recent developments in Lebanon. Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, and senior officials from both countries attended the meeting.
Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated that the discussions centered on strengthening ties and exploring ways to develop them across all possible areas.
Officials highlighted that Lebanon has a historic opportunity to shape its future, overcome past challenges, and initiate reconstruction and development to fulfil the aspirations of the Lebanese people for security and stability, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammad noted that the session also addressed key issues of mutual interest, methods to enhance unified Arab action, and recent regional and international developments.
Hundreds march in West Bank against killings of Palestinian medics
- Protesters carried symbolic white shrouds bearing the names and pictures of the dead, as well as signs demanding the release of three staff members
RAMALLAH: Hundreds of Palestinian Red Crescent staff marched in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday to protest the killing of medical workers in Gaza over the past 19 months of war.
Gathering in the city’s Clock Square, medical personnel, support staff and volunteers wore white and orange vests and waved flags bearing the Red Crescent’s emblem.
The demonstration marked World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, usually observed on May 8, and called for the “protection for medical and humanitarian workers.”
In a statement released Monday, the Red Crescent said 48 of their staff members have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank since the war began on October 7, 2023 — including 30 who “were killed while performing their humanitarian duty wearing the Red Crescent emblem.”
Protesters carried symbolic white shrouds bearing the names and pictures of the dead, as well as signs demanding the release of three staff members who have been detained by the Israeli army for over a year.
Some 1,400 humanitarian and medical workers have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, according to the statement, which added that “dozens of medical personnel working in Gaza... were detained while performing their humanitarian duties.”
It highlighted a particularly deadly attack in March in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, when 15 first responders including eight Red Crescent paramedics were killed by the Israeli army.
The first responders were answering distress calls after Israeli air strikes.
The incident drew international condemnation, including concern about possible war crimes from UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk.
An Israeli military investigation, the results of which were published, acknowledged “professional failures” and “violations of orders” during the shooting.
