British student lost on Turkish mountain ate INSECTS and slept in caves for eight nights

A BRITISH student survived eight nights on a mountain in Turkey by eating insects and sheltering in a cave, it has emerged.

david mackie, lost in turkey, british student lost, slept in cave, antalya area mountain rangeGETTY

David Mackie reunited with his parents after his dramatic rescue

David Mackie, 21, and two Dutch friends were on a trekking expedition when they went missing after bad weather and flooding in the Antalya area.

During a fierce storm Mr Mackie's mobile phone signal died as he tried to raise the alarm.

The group tried to use a dried riverbed to follow it to a town.

But the men were forced to take shelter as the riverbed suddenly flooded, nearly washing them away.

They found safety in a cave before eventually being rescued and airlifted to hospital. They had no serious injuries apart from cuts and bruises.

Mr Mackie, from Radcliffe-on-Trent, Notts, said yesterday: "I've not eaten for seven days now. We ate a few ants and things like that and drank spring water from the mountains.

"We are extremely hungry and exhausted."

david mackie, lost in turkey, british student lost, slept in cave, antalya area mountain rangeGETTY

Mackie had only planned for a day trek - but it ended up being eight days lost on the mountain range

I've not eaten for seven days now. We ate a few ants and things like that

David Mackie

He went on: "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 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."

The engineering student left for a day trip with his friends Friso de Vries and Marije de Groot, hiking along the Lycian Way long-distance path in Antalya.

david mackie, lost in turkey, british student lost, slept in cave, antalya area mountain rangeGETTY

Mackie's parents thanked the Turkish services for their 'dedication' in finding their son

Mr Mackie's family grew worried when he had not been in contact and missed his flight back to Istanbul where he is currently studying.

Seven separate rescue teams of up to 82 scoured a 25-mile square area with a helicopter and eight rescue dogs, until the group was spotted.

A helicopter was then sent to airlift the three men to safety.

Mr Mackie's parents Christopher and Alison Mackie are currently with their son, who is now out of hospital with just cuts and scratches.

The rescued student thanked the Turkish authorities "for their absolute dedication in finding" his son.

Mr Mackie's sister Hannah, 22, said the family, who are due to return Britain in the coming days, were still in shock over what happened.

She said: "It's been the worst week of my life... we're so relieved, we're still in disbelief.

"You don't think it's going to happen to you."

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