Team rescues Polish climber stranded at Mount Erciyes

KAYSERİ

A team has rescued a Polish climber who became stranded at an altitude of 3,600 meters during an unauthorized summit climb on Mount Erciyes in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

At around 4 a.m. on Sept. 20, 29-year-old Daniels Baranowski embarked on an unauthorized climb to the summit of Mount Erciyes, following the route showed by a navigation application on his phone.

Stranded in the Hörgüç Kaya area, the climber promptly notified the International Emergency Coordination Center. In response, a 25-person search and rescue team was mobilized, and they managed to reach Baranowski at an altitude of 3,600 meters on Mount Erciyes after a grueling 6.5-hour effort. After a three-hour rescue operation, the Polish mountaineer was safely brought down from the mountain by the rescue teams.

Baranowski expressed his regret, saying, "I set out just following the map. I apologize for causing this situation."

The authorities informed that Baranowski traveled from Poland to Türkiye on his bicycle and set up his tent in a camping area on Mount Erciyes. Following undergoing initial health checks, he refused to go to the hospital for further examination.