Increased rescue operations in the mountains - even at night

Last Wednesday, an Air Zermatt rescue crew was called out to a night mission on the Matterhorn. Two exhausted mountaineers had to be rescued from an altitude of over 4000 metres in complete darkness. In addition to pilots, an emergency doctor and paramedics, a rescue specialist from the Valais cantonal rescue organisation KWRO (emergency number 144) was also involved in the rescue. Such missions require maximum precision, many years of experience and well-rehearsed teamwork, especially when flying at night in the mountains.

Air Zermatt's rescuers were also in constant action at the weekend: a total of thirteen mountain rescues were carried out between Friday and Sunday: six on Friday, four on Saturday and another three on Sunday. Some of the people involved were exhausted, caught out by thunderstorms or had lost equipment en route.beautiful weather, high temperatures and good conditions in the mountains: the mountaineering season has begun and this is clearly noticeable at Air Zermatt. Over the past few days, there has been an accumulation of missions in high alpine terrain. Air Zermatt's rescue helicopters have had to evacuate exhausted or distressed mountaineers practically every day, even at night.

Several missions during the night

The increase in night missions was striking. In the night to Saturday alone, Air Zermatt was called out three times at night by the KWRO, including for a mission on the Lenzspitze. Here, too, alpinists had to be evacuated from difficult terrain. In addition, one person with a medical emergency was first treated by the Air Zermatt ambulance service in Zermatt and then flown by helicopter to the hospital in Visp.

In addition, there were further night missions during the night to Sunday: Late on Saturday evening, a patient was transferred from Visp Hospital to the Inselspital in Bern. At midnight, the same aircraft flew to Saas-Fee for a medical emergency. The person concerned was transported to Visp by helicopter.

Night missions are undoubtedly among the most demanding missions. The pilots are equipped with powerful searchlights and night vision goggles, which enable them to fly safely at night.