A DJI Mavic Pro has helped save the life of a Scottish climber who fell while making a solo ascent up one of Pakistan’s highest mountains.
NPR reports that Rick Allen, a world-renowned mountaineer, was partway through his journey up the 26,000 foot Broad Peak when he stumbled 100 feet down an ice wall. Allen was missing for some 36 hours and rescuers and other climbers on the mountain assumed Allen had simply died.
However, a Japanese base camp cook noticed Allen’s rucksack on one of the mountain faces. Another team who were climbing the mountain were using a drone to capture some beautiful shots of their trip. Once the drone operator was alerted to the location of the rucksack, he directed his Mavic Pro to area near the rucksack and Allen was discovered.
The area were the Scotsman was found was surrounded by treacherous terrain near crevices and sheer cliffs. The rescuers reached Allen and he was airlifted off the mountain. Aside from minor frostbite and bumps and bruises, he suffered no serious injuries.
Mountain climbing is often a highly dangerous pursuit as mountains can be very unforgiving. In 2017 alone, 10 climbers died while climbing Mt Everest. Missing climbers are notoriously hard to rescue due to the many fragile conditions at such high altitudes. The air is thin meaning rescuers often need oxygen tanks, the weather is prone to sudden changes and if they take one wrong step, they may also find themselves plunging down a crevice.
Broad Peak, Pakistan. Mountains often present perilous conditions for rescuers
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