When Christoph 33 was put into service by German air rescue organization ADAC Luftrettung shortly before Christmas in 1991, it was one of the first rescue helicopters in the new federal states. And its importance for the rescue service in Lower Lusatia became ever greater in the following decades, as has been demonstrated by the increasing number of missions it has flown. From 667 missions in 1992, the missions increased to 1030 in 1996 to an average of around 1650 in the past three years.

From its location in Senftenberg, Christoph 33 (which since 2007 has been an EC135) serves patients within a radius of 50 to 70 kilometers. Together with Christoph Brandenburg, the intensive transport helicopter that was additionally put into service in 1994 and flies in 24-hour operation, the double station in Senftenberg is one of the most powerful and modern air rescue stations in Germany and at the same time the largest of the 37 stations of the ADAC Air Rescue.

30 years of emergency medical care in the air

Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of ADAC Luftrettung GmbH, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the station on the anniversary of Christoph 33’s operation: "In Senftenberg, excellent work has been done for decades to ensure emergency medical care from the air. Especially in exceptional times like these, it shows how highly professional and committed our crews are to help the people in the region," he praised.

ADAC Luftrettung invested €1.6 million on behalf of the state in the expansion and modernization of the station, which, in addition to the operations center for the two helicopters, also houses state-of-the-art rooms for the accommodation of the crews. Furthermore, the flying Yellow Angels have a modern training room at their disposal, which is also used for joint training with other rescue workers.

In Senftenberg, the crew consists of a total of 13 pilots from ADAC Luftrettung as well as 35 emergency doctors and 10 emergency paramedics (TC HEMS) from the Klinikum Niederlausitz. The head of the ward is Frank Girschik, Chief Emergency Physician Dr. Oliver Eckermann and Senior Emergency Paramedic Steffen Hirsch.

An open day planned for the anniversary unfortunately has to be postponed due to the corona pandemic.

German air ambulance service ADAC Air Rescue will now keep its rescue helicopter Christoph 22, stationed at the Bundeswehr hospital in Ulm, on alert until 20:00 hrs even in winter.