Crash on Pilatus
“It was a special mission”: Two Rega helicopters rescue trail runners “at the last minute” – a passer-by held him
A trail runner crashed on Mount Pilatus on Sunday. A hiker was able to hold him until two Rega helicopters arrived.
Rega’s media spokesman said after the accident: “It was a special operation.”
Video: Tele1
The Swiss Air Rescue Rega rescued a crashed trail runner “at the last minute” on Sunday afternoon, as the Rega media service announced on Monday. The trail runner was on a hiking trail in steep terrain on the north side of Mount Pilatus when he fell for unknown reasons around 4 p.m. on Sunday. After falling over boulders, he was seriously injured below the path, but was in danger of falling further due to the steep meadow terrain. A person who observed the accident was able to raise the alarm and descend to the victim, holding him and thus preventing him from falling again.
Rega sends two crews to the scene of the accident
Due to the extremely urgent emergency, the Rega operations center immediately deployed two helicopter crews: the crew from Wilderswil, which had just completed an operation, flew directly to the site of operations, while the crew from the Erstfeld base took off a SAC on the way to the site of operations. Mountain rescuers picked up. Mountain rescuers support the Rega crews in difficult terrain and can, for example, install safety hooks in the rock.
A rescuer is lowered from a Rega helicopter on a rope to an accident victim.
Symbol image: Rega
Urgency required special rescue method
The crew from Wilderswil arrived at the scene first, the statement continues. After assessing the delicate situation from the air, the crew decided to carry out a special form of rescue using the rescue winch, the so-called “direct rescue”. This is used when things have to be done extremely quickly. The emergency doctor is lowered down to the victim, but is not released from the winch on the ground, in contrast to the normal course of a rescue winch operation. This means that the emergency doctor remains connected to the rescue helicopter via the winch cable and is protected against a fall.
The emergency doctor, who had also installed crampons due to the steep terrain, managed to create a rescue triangle for the injured man and the crew was able to fly him out to an intermediate landing site using the rescue winch. There, the seriously injured person was able to receive medical care and then flown to the nearest suitable central hospital. (mme)
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