Drone pilots receive special training to work with the rescue dog team
Dominique Peter
The Swiss rescue dog service Redog has partnered up with the Swiss Federation of Civil Drones to improve the efficiency of search operations to find missing persons on difficult terrain.
This content was published on
1 minute
Swissinfo.ch's India specialist covers a wide range of issues from bilateral relations to Bollywood. He also knows a thing or two about Swiss watchmaking and is partial to the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
The drones will be equipped with night vision and thermal cameras to spot people in distress. The dog handlers and dogs will then be directed to the spot to rescue those in need.
“We have already tested the dog-drone combination during our last three operations and we are now ready,” Romaine Kuonen, president of Redog, told swissinfo.ch.
According to Kuonen, Redog is involved in around 20 search and rescue operations every year. The drones will cover a lot of terrain while the dogs will be indispensable in forests where tree cover blocks aerial views, she says.
External Content
Both organisations will adapt their training to accommodate this new type of teamwork. So far, only five drone pilots have the necessary training to participate in the rescue operations. The partnership is a voluntary initiative with no additional commercial benefits to either organisation.
It is estimated that around 3,000 people go missing in Switzerland every year. Many of them suffer from dementia or are hikers who suddenly encounter health issues. Some 20,000 hikers per year have an accident, according to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
More Swiss deciding to take a hike
This content was published on
While only 25% of the Swiss population hiked regularly in 2000, today the figure is 44%, according to a study flagged up by the newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag on Sunday – which cited the umbrella organisation for Swiss hiking groupsExternal link. The increase is particularly noticeable among families and couples aged 30-45. Hikers hit the…
This content was published on
Funding from the Swiss enlargement contribution makes it possible to train rescue dogs and their handlers. “Run, Hugo, run!”, commands police officer Monika Vikova – lovingly, but firmly – and with a spank on the behind. She takes off the leash, and Hugo, the nine-year-old schnauzer, barks loudly and hurries into the woods. There he…
This content was published on
Muffled voices follow and then there is the sweet sound of scraping snow as a four-legged rescuer breaks through the hole cover and announces his discovery to his human trainer. The smell of a sausage treat inside is too much for the Labrador to resist and he jumps into the hole, already snug with two…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.