USA: A driver trapped in a pile of snow saved himself by releasing a drone with a mobile phone attached
A driver stranded by a snowstorm in Oregon’s cell-free Cascade Range sent a drone for help. He attached a cell phone to it with a message for emergency services and took it several hundred meters into the air, Yahoo reported on Thursday. According to reports from local authorities on the west coast of the US, a dozen or more people may have died as a result of the snowstorms.
A man in Oregon saved himself because he had a drone in his car. At an altitude of several hundred meters, the phone attached to it connected to the tower and sent a message that alerted the emergency services. These found an unlucky but inventive driver.
During the rescue of the man, the services located and saved another driver who spent several days in a snow-covered car.
Rescuers praised drivers for staying in their vehicles. “It’s rare that someone in Oregon dies of hypothermia while waiting in their vehicle in an emergency for emergency services to find them. But unfortunately, we have seen many times the dramatic effects of the decisions of those who left the car and sought rescue on their own.
The west coast of the USA has been hit by unusual storms, blizzards and snowstorms in recent weeks. The most difficult conditions prevailed in mountain towns. In southern California, in the area of the San Bernardino range, drifts reached 2.5 meters high. Residents were left without electricity, snow-laden roofs and terraces collapsed, gas leaks set fires, and many settlements struggled with food supplies. Several deaths were recorded. Local authorities are still searching for missing persons, so the death toll is likely to be higher.
The weather situation is improving now. About 95 percent 50 miles of roads in San Bernardino County are now passable, with only about 30 miles of snow left to clear. (PAP)
