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An emergency call in a roundabout way for Air Zermatt
Air Zermatt is called out on more than 2000 rescue missions every year. Last weekend alone, Air Zermatt registered 18 rescues. The alarms were raised via the Cantonal Valais Rescue Organisation (KWRO) with the emergency number 144. Last weekend, the Valais rescuers received an unusual emergency call.
Two deaf women were on a hike in the Upper Valais on Saturday. On the descent from the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge to Randa, one of the two deaf women complained of pain and was exhausted. The two women felt compelled to alert the rescue services.
However, the Air Zermatt rescue crew that was called out could not immediately locate the two women in the dense forest from the air. Therefore, the pilot requested a more detailed briefing of the helicopter by the two women. With success. The Valais air rescuers were able to winch the deaf woman out of the forest. She was unharmed.
The extraordinary thing about this mission: the deaf women alerted the rescuers via VideoCom. VideoCom enables a deaf person equipped with a video phone to communicate with a hearing person. Interpreters mediate simultaneously between sign language and spoken language - so everything is in real time! In the case of last Saturday's rescue, the two deaf women communicated with the interpreter via videophone, who was in contact with the emergency number 144, which relayed the information directly to the Air Zermatt helicopter. An emergency call in a roundabout way - but with a "happy ending".