British student survives four days in Turkish cave with no food

A British student has been reunited with his family after surviving four days lost in a cave in Turkey.

Aerospace engineering student David Mackie had got lost while on an expedition with two Dutch student on the Lycian Way trekking trail in the Kremer district.

While trekking, a storm started brewing and the group had no mobile phone access.

David, from Nottinghamshire, has now told how the group survived on rainwater as they took shelter in a cave.

According to the Mirror, David said: "We were out trekking as the storm began and it started to flood as we tried to use the river to find a town. But suddenly the riverbed became swollen as the water poured from the mountains.

"We had gone trekking for a day and then found ourselves stranded for four days without any food and having to drink rainwater.

"The mobile phone had died on us and we were forced to take to the cave. We thought we would only have to spend one night in the cave after trying to raise the alarm, but we couldn't get any connection.

"One night turned into four until all of a sudden the mobile managed to find two signal bars and we were able to call the Turkish emergency services on 112."

A helicopter search was raised for David and his friends, Marie de Groitt and Frisa Ann Antony de Vries, both 22, who all study at Turkey's Bogazici University.

The group set off from Antalya on Wednesday 14 January, and managed to call emergency services on Friday.

Before they were found, around 137 people were involved in looking for the trio. A helicopter spotted them first, but because of the difficult terrain, a ground team was sent in to retrieve them, and take them back to the chopper.

The group were taken to hospital in Antalya, where they were treated for dehydration, exhaustion and cuts and bruises.

Dr. Levent Mumbuç, who examined them all, said they were all in a good condition.

According to the Hurriyet News, he said: "They are in good condition. None of them are injured. They survived the five days by drinking water from the river and eating fruits and small bugs. They are tired and weak.

It was an emotional scene as David was reunited with his family. His dad Christopher Mackie thanked the Turkish authorities for the rescue operation.