Due to a strong tide, a fourteen-year-old swimmer got into trouble off the coast of Valencia. Rescuers sent a special drone to him, which is wearing life jackets. The plane arrived just as the swimmer began to dive.
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As seen in the footage, the machine drops his life jacket. The boy struggles with the waves until he manages to grab the vest. She keeps him afloat until the lifeguard team arrives.
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“When I arrived with the drone, we saw a boy who was in very bad shape and had almost no energy to stay afloat, so I dropped his life jacket,” said drone pilot Miguel Angel Pedrero of the UK television Sky News.
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“It was a difficult maneuver due to the strong waves, but in the end the vest was able to reach him before the rescuers reached him on jet skis,” added the pilot.
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The boy then ended up being examined at a local hospital, from where he was released the next day.
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The General Drones project, which helps Spanish lifeguards, started operating in 2017 in the city of Sagunto, north of Valencia.
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It currently includes more than 30 pilots and drones working with lifeguards on 22 beaches across Spain, providing quick support in critical moments when someone could be drowning before lifeguards arrive.
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🚁⛱ We deployed 20 drones to reinforce surveillance and prevention work on Valencian beaches
📽Presentation of the rescue drone device in Orihuela
💬@gabrielabravo_s “We have a pioneering international project to save lives at sea” pic.twitter.com/vQchR4k4nM
— GVA Justice, Interior and Administration. Public (@GVAjusticia) July 23, 2022
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“These extra seconds are vital in some cases and allow rescue teams to approach the person more calmly and cautiously,” drone pilot Pedrero explains the advantage.
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According to the Royal Spanish Rescue Federation, 140 people died in Spain from accidental drowning in the first six months of 2022, which is a 55% increase over the same period in 2021. Without the help of drones, this number would likely be even higher.
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