In A First, A Drone Helped Save Lives At An Australia Beach

We all know how amazing and successful the drones have become in the field of photography and videography. Through the use of drones, we’ve been able to eliminate the use of way too much manpower, along with a shit ton of money, in order to produce and capture some aerial shots.

Now, even a common man can use this great invention to capture the unseen beauty, all through the use of a single remote. How great is that?

However, do you know that drones were not single-handedly made for something like this? Initially, drones were used by armed forces of various countries to keep a check on their bodies and even on the opposite side. This is the same reason why many don’t even allow the usage of drones in various public sites.

But now, drones are being used for a greater use and benefit of the humanity.

On Thursday, Australian lifeguards used a drone to save the lives of two swimmers off a beach in New South Wales. As per Reuters, this is the first time when the technology has been used in this way to save a life.

The incident took place at Australia’s Lennox Head, which is a popular beach among the surfers. It happened when the lifeguards at the beach were conducting a training session on how the country’s new technology can be used to save swimmers. Just at this time, the lifeguard noticed two men swimming outside the safety flags who were in trouble in a three-metre (10-foot) swell, the government said in a statement.

The lifeguards at the shore immediately launched a rescue operation through which the drone steered in swimmers direction and dropped a “rescue pod” into the water. Upon touching the water, it expanded so the swimmers could grab it and swim to the shore.

John Barilaro MP on Twitter

WATCH: World first drone rescue of teenage swimmers at #LennoxHead on the NSW North Coast. Well done to… @slsnsw @NiallBlairMLC @BenFranklinNats and Little Ripper Life Saver drones #nswpol #nsw #worldfirst https://t.co/AB3Q2ViXOR

The entire rescue mission just took 70 seconds, which is unbelievable, to say the least.

“Never before has a drone fitted with a flotation device been used to rescue swimmers like this,” said John Barilaro, the deputy premier of New South Wales state.

Barilaro even said that the government had invested $3,43,000 (Rs 2.1 crore) to develop the technology in December.

Australia is a country where 24 million of its population live on the coast, and it saw 291 drownings in the year to June 30. It’s a small increase over the previous year, but there has been noted a small decline on a per capita basis, as per the Royal Life Saving Society.

Let’s just hope that the similar technology can be adopted and used in areas where a huge amount of incidents like these keep on happening every now and then.

Jyotsna Amla