A Drone Saves Two Swimmers in Australia

Two teenage boys were rescued recently by a new lifesaving drone in Australia while lifesavers were still training to use the device. The swimmers, aged 15~17, had got into difficulties off a coast in New South Wales. A passer-by saw them struggling in heavy surf. Lifesavers immediately sent the drone to drop a lifeboat, and the two boys made their way safely to shore. A lifesaver was piloting the device when the alarm was raised. “The little drone has certainly proved itself today. It is an amazingly efficient piece of lifesaving equipment and a delight to fly,” he said. It took just a minute or two to launch the drone, fly it to the rescue site, and drop the lifeboat. But without a drone, reaching the teenagers could easily have taken three times as long. The drone’s camera also recorded the whole rescue. The state government has spent a large sum of money on a fleet of drones. While some are designed to spot sharks, others equipped with lifeboats, alarms and louds peakers.