Press release
November 23, 2020
About two-thirds of the Austrian territory is alpine terrain. Over 500 times a year the professionals of the Air Police and the Austrian Mountain Rescue Service (ÖBRD) have to go out on search and rescue missions into alpine areas, which are tactically one of the most difficult tasks. The condition of the missing person is usually unknown, but an injury or other aggravating situation is usually assumed.
"When we as a Mountain Rescue team have to go out to search for someone, the RECCO system can save lives, as the search is shortened," explains Martin Gurdet, Managing Director of the Austrian Rescue Service Bundesverband.
Austria is the first country in the world to fully cover its entire territory with the operational RECCO SAR detectors. The search is being carried out jointly by police and rescue services and the detectors are placed in four main strategic Air Police bases for nationwide deployment.
"We have positioned four RECCO SAR helicopter detectors across Austria and with this system we are able to operate all search operations in our territory", says Werner Senn, Head of the 11/7 Air Police Department.
Detector locations: Hohenems, Innsbruck, Linz and Graz.
More information from ÖBRD: https://bergrettung.at/tipps/recco-sar/
RECCO® advanced rescue technology makes outdoor enthusiasts searchable to rescuers in case of an avalanche accident or when lost in the outdoors. The technology builds on a two-part radar system. Rescuers carry RECCO® detectors that send out search signals which are echoed by RECCO® reflectors, carried by the user. RECCO® detectors are used worldwide at more than 900 ski resorts and mountain rescue organizations in 32 countries. RECCO® reflectors are integrated into select apparel, helmets, protection gear and boots manufactured by more than 150 leading outdoor brands. RECCO AB was founded in 1983 in Sweden and is owned by its founder Magnus Granhed and the publicly traded investment company Traction AB (listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm). More info at recco.com
