High-Precision Longline Rescue from the Jolischlucht Gorge
On Friday evening, the Air Zermatt crew carried out an exceptionally challenging rescue operation in the Jolischlucht gorge near Niedergesteln, Valais. Three people were stranded in the deeply carved gorge. To rescue them, a rescue specialist had to be lowered to the bottom of the gorge on a 50-meter-long longline. For the pilot and rescuer, the mission required the utmost precision and complete mutual trust.
On Friday evening, Air Zermatt was alerted by the Valais Cantonal Rescue Organization (KWRO; emergency number 144) after three people found themselves in distress in the Jolischlucht gorge near Niedergesteln and were unable to exit the gorge on their own. The reconnaissance flight alone made it clear just how challenging the rescue would be: In some places, the gorge is only two meters wide and up to 50 meters deep. Its bottom cannot be seen from the cockpit; from the air, the crew was essentially looking into a black hole.
In addition, the Jolibach was carrying a large volume of water at that time due to a thunderstorm. After an intensive search, the crew finally managed to locate the three people beneath a boulder deep in the gorge.
The rescuer is flown 48 meters down into the gorge
For the actual rescue, a rescue specialist from the Valais Cantonal Rescue Organization (KWRO) was deployed on a 50-meter-long longline. The Air Zermatt pilot flew the rescuer across the gorge and then lowered him deeper and deeper between the steep, narrow rock walls.
The deeper the rescue specialist was lowered into the narrow gorge, the less the pilot could see him. Soon, the pilot had no direct line of sight from the cockpit to the rescuer or his immediate surroundings. He had to hold the helicopter precisely in position and rely entirely on the radio communications and instructions from the rescue specialist. In this way, the rescuer was lowered 48 meters deep into the gorge.
Precision work requiring seamless coordination between pilot and rescuer
At the bottom of the gorge, the rescue specialist managed to prepare the three trapped individuals for transport via the longline. Then began the equally challenging journey back up.
The pilot flew the rescue specialist and the three people vertically out of the narrow gorge. Every movement of the helicopter had to be precisely coordinated with the rescuer’s instructions to ensure sufficient distance from the rock walls.
The three people were finally flown out safely from the Jolischlucht and dropped off in Niedergesteln. They were unharmed.
