Two teenage boys struggling to stay afloat in surf off the coast of Lennox Head were saved by an actual drone yesterday, making it a world first rescue.
The 15-17-year-old teens were about 700 metres offshore when they began to have trouble in the water. Luckily, a member of the public spotted the pair and alerted lifesavers who quickly responded by sending out their flashy new drone.
Amazingly, the team were still being trained on how to use the gadget, but were still able to fly it out to the swimmers and drop an inflatable rescue pod the pair used to return safely to shore.
“Never before has a drone fitted with a flotation device been used to rescue swimmers like this,” said NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro. The pilot and lifeguard supervisor, Jai Sheridan, said the experience was “unreal”.
“The Little Ripper UAV certainly proved itself today, it is an amazingly efficient piece of lifesaving equipment and a delight to fly,” he told the SMH newspaper. Being a drone and all, the entire rescue was caught on camera. Check it out below.
Deploying and flying the drone to the rescue site only took Sheridan a minute or two, he said. A traditional rescue could have easily taken three times as long as that. In a situation which can decline in a matter of seconds, those few minutes are incredibly crucial.
It’s an amazing use of new technology that’s only going to continue. In December, the NSW state government revealed it had invested $340,000 in a whole fleet of drones. Some will spot sharks while others will perform rescues similar to the one above.
I suddenly feel way safer swimming at the beach.
