64-year-old man who fell off a cliff in Taranto was recovered with a winch by an Air Force HH139A
The rescue of a man by a crew of the 84th Combat Search and Rescue Center (CSAR) in Gioia del Colle (TA) ended yesterday evening. The man, who fell inside a ravine in the Taranto area, was recovered by a HH139A helicopter of the 15th Wing of Cervia, on which the 84th CSAR depends, after being stabilized by the operators of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps. (CNSAS) Puglia and 118.
The emergency call for the seriously injured man, a 64-year-old who crashed while climbing in Gravina di Leucaspide, in Statte (TA), reached CNSAS Puglia late yesterday afternoon. The place, particularly inaccessible and not reachable by land vehicles, required the intervention of an Air Force aircraft.
The helicopter of the 84th CSAR of Gioia del Colle, activated by the operations room of the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE), immediately took off just before 20pm. Once on the spot, the rescuers took steps to lower the winch between the walls of the canyon about 40 meters deep. Once secured to the winch, the stretcher, on which the CNSAS and 118 operators had previously stabilized the injured, was slowly raised until it could be loaded aboard the HH139A.
The aircraft then landed after a few minutes in an area near the ordinary road network where the polytraumatized person was delivered to the 118 medical team. Once the mission was over, the HH139A was then able to return to the military base of Gioia del Colle .
The 84th Center is one of the Departments of the 15th Wing of the Air Force which guarantees, every single day of the year, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty, also contributing to public utility activities such as search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, the emergency medical transport of patients in danger of life and the rescue of seriously traumatized patients, operating even at night or in complex weather conditions. From its constitution to today, the crews of the 15 ° Stormo have saved over 7300 people in danger of life or in conditions of serious difficulty.