The new function enables the rescue helicopter to locate people in need of assistance in the mountains.
ADVERTISINGIn view of the increasing number of fatal accidents in the mountains, the Slovak Mountain Rescue Service introduced a location sharing feature in its rescue app in early 2024.
To help lost or injured tourists in the mountains, the Slovak Mountain Rescue Service released an app called HZS in 2020.
The new function enables rescue services to use helicopters to locate people in need of help in the mountains using coordinates.
Accordingly Arrivala government marketing organization, rescue workers can use the app to locate a missing person with an accuracy of 20 to 30 meters.
“It simplifies our work because we don’t have to travel with the patient to the scene,” says Iveta Križalkovičová, head of the helicopter emergency service.
“We get into the helicopter and receive the coordinates during flight preparation or even during the flight.”
The team behind the rescue app says a large part of the rescue effort involves searching for injured hikers.
“One’s own abilities and the difficulty of the hike are most often underestimated. And yet, that is the main reason why something happens,” says Filip Maleňák, CEO of Medical Information Technologies, the development company behind the app.
According to the Slovak Mountain Rescue Service, the number of fatal accidents in the mountains increased by almost half last year.
“The emergency number’s operations center received almost 1,200 emergency calls in the first half of the year – this is a slight increase compared to the previous year,” said Maleňák.
Travel to Slovakia says the app works even in places without a signal. Once users send an SMS through the app, they are connected to the HZS headquarters.
The app is available in 11 mountain areas of Slovakia such as the High Tatras and the Slovak Paradise National Park, as well as in neighboring countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria.
The app forwards emergency calls or text messages to the emergency services in the respective country without users having to download a local app, according to Generali, a Slovakian insurance company behind the development of the app.
The app is designed to provide information about the nearest mountain hut, medical station and rescue station. It also shows the locations of the 17 AED defibrillators in the mountains.
The Tatra National Park, a popular mountain range in Slovakia, often referred to as the “smallest Alpine mountain”, attracts around 3.5 million tourists annuallysays Mapotic, a location data company.
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Video editing • Roselyne Min
