29-Apr-2024 Source: ADAC Luftrettung
On April 10, 2024, winch training by the non-profit ADAC Luftrettung will start in the Eschenlohe municipality. The exercise takes place in cooperation with the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service west of the A95 motorway. Flights with the ADAC rescue helicopter are planned from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Teams consisting of a total of 14 emergency doctors and emergency paramedics (TC HEMS) from the ADAC air rescue stations in Munich (“Christoph 1”) and Murnau (“Christoph Murnau”) and several pilots and winch operators are involved in the flight maneuvers with the rescue winch every day. During the training with 16 mountain rescuers from the region, complex operations with the rescue winch, joint patient care in impassable terrain and the necessary safety measures are practiced. The training has been coordinated with the responsible authorities and is approved.
The rescue procedure with the winch is used in the Alps or in impassable terrain if the ground-based rescue service cannot reach the scene of the accident. The challenge for the medical crew is to master the rescue safely and to treat the patient optimally under difficult conditions. The crews train the procedure twice a year in order to be optimally prepared for the summer and winter seasons.
The importance of special operations with rescue winches will continue to increase in 2023. The six winch stations in Munich, Murnau, Straubing (all Bavaria), Sande (Lower Saxony), West Palatinate (Rhineland-Palatinate) and the station in Hamburg, which was newly equipped with a rescue winch, recorded an increase of 45 percent with 546 winch operations. The increase results, among other things, from the expanded use of winches in emergencies in the city – such as in Hamburg – and in difficult-to-reach locations in rural regions – such as in the West Palatinate and Straubing. The winch, which is 90 meters long and has a load capacity of around 250 kilograms, enables patients to be treated and rescued much more quickly. The winch helicopters are also available to rescue people in emergency situations in the event of a disaster.
