Zurich: Rega deployed around 70 times
The partly cloudy and mild winter weather gave the Rega helicopter crews a relatively quiet festive season.
From Christmas Eve to St. Stephen’s Day, they were on duty around 70 times for people who were in need, injured or seriously ill. Rega’s ambulance jets were out and about for patients around the world over the festive period.
The mixed winter weather made for relatively quiet festive days at Rega: from 24 to 26 December 2022, the helicopter crews deployed around 70 times in total.
The most common reasons for helicopter missions were serious or acute illnesses, such as strokes or cardiovascular diseases, as well as winter sports accidents. The Rega crews were also on duty for transfer flights from regional to central hospitals.
Use of the rescue winch on the Albis (ZH)
This afternoon, Rega was called out to look after a man who had had an accident on the Albis. He fell on a flight of stairs above Stallikon (ZH) and injured his knee so badly that it was impossible to continue.
The patient was flown out of the steep terrain using the rescue winch by the Rega crew from the Zurich base and transported to the nearest suitable hospital.
The numbers of helicopter crews deployed over the Christmas period show that Rega missions generally reflect the weather conditions, leisure activities and travel activities of the Swiss population and foreign tourists in Switzerland.
Rega ambulance jets around the world for patients on the move
Over the Christmas period, Rega was on duty not only in Switzerland but all over the world for people in need. On the evening of 24 December, one of Rega’s three ambulance jets returned from Egypt with a patient on board.
Another Rega jet landed in Zurich on Christmas Day with a patient who had an accident in Mexico. This morning, ambulance jets took off again for Jamaica and Egypt to repatriate patients from there to Switzerland.
Since the flights can be planned in advance, two or more patients can also be taken on board. Two so-called combination flights took place on Christmas Day: Two patients were flown together from Spain and Portugal to Zurich.
Another Rega crew flew three patients from the Canary Islands back to Switzerland on board an ambulance jet. If the patient’s state of health permits, repatriation can also take place on board a scheduled aircraft, accompanied by Rega’s medical staff.
A Rega flight doctor took off for Malaysia on Monday afternoon to provide medical care to a patient on the flight back to Zurich.
Rega media service