CNN  — 

An American man stuck in the third-deepest cave in Turkey after falling ill has said he is “doing well” as rescue operations to retrieve him from hundreds of meters below the surface continue.

Mark Dickey fell ill at the weekend with suspected gastrointestinal bleeding during a exploration mission of the 1,276 meters-deep (4,186 feet) Morca Sinkhole in Morca Valley, near Anamur, southern Turkey, according to the Turkish Caving Federation.

Dickey became ill at a depth of 1,120 meters (3,675 feet) and was placed under observation at the cave base camp located at 1,040 meters (3,412 feet), the federation said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, adding that some 150 rescuers are involved in a “complex” operation to save him.

In a video shared by Turkey’s directorate of communications on Wednesday, Dickey said that although he was “very close to the edge,” a quick response by Turkish authorities likely saved his life.

“As you can see I’m up, I’m alert, I’m talking. But I’m not healed on the inside yet so I’m going to need a lot of help to get out of here,” he said, praising the caving community.

“This is often in the caving world, a great opportunity to show just how well the international world can work together. So I’m hoping to see many people from many countries all coming together. We take care of our own. And it’s really special to be taken care of.”

The rescue operation, which was first announced on Monday, could take days due to the fact that the cave is deep and narrow, Bulent Genc, head of the federation, told CNN Thursday, adding that it can take 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface in ideal conditions.

A rescue mission at this depth is “very rare, extremely difficult” and needs “many very experienced cave rescuers,” according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA), which is involved in the operation and said it was made aware that Dickey was suffering from severe gastric pain on Saturday.

Gretchen Baker, from National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), who has known and worked with Dickey for several years and has been in communication with the rescue team, expressed cautious optimism about Dickey’s safe passage out of the cave.

In an interview with CNN’s Isa Soares on Thursday, Baker said “the team on the ground is very happy that Mark’s condition seems to be improving, so that it looks like that he will not have to be in a [rescue] litter the entire way out.”

“The more he can help, the faster the rescue can go,” she said.

Despite Dickey’s improving medical situation, Baker said even with him helping, the rescue operation still has some way to go.

“We’re anticipating that it will take days to get him out of the cave,” she said.