Rega completes evacuations from snow-bound village
On the morning of 22 January, the Rega crew based in Mollis evacuated two people from the village of Elm in Glarnerland.
On the morning of 22 January, the Rega crew based in Mollis evacuated two people from the village of Elm in Glarnerland. The area had been cut off since the previous evening due to significant snowfall, leading to the only road in or out of the village being closed due to the avalanche risk.
A pregnant woman in labour was unable to drive to the hospital because of the closed access road, so called emergency services for assistance. Following the alert, the Rega operations center of dispatched the crew from Mollis. “Due to the low-lying cloud cover and the bad weather conditions, it was essential to lose no time and to fly the woman to the hospital as soon as possible, as long as Elm could still be reached by air,” said the organisation.
During the flight to Elm to collect the patient, the crew received a message about second patient who required evacuation from the same village – a severely ill man had to go to the hospital for urgent treatment. The Rega Operations Center informed the pilot via radio and organised the double patient admission in the middle of Elm. A few minutes later, the Rega crew flew the two patients to the nearest appropriate hospital, where they could receive medical treatment.