Distressed Swimmers who got caught in the rough seas of Lennox Head in New South Wales, Australia, was rescued on January 18 by a drone. Lifeguard Jai Sheridan, deployed a Little Ripper drone that was able to deployed a flotation device to the two swimmers in distress. The swimmers swiftly floated to safety thereafter.
The rescue marks the first known rescue performed by a drone.
New South Wales’s government has invested nearly a half a million dollars in drone technology to assist in coastal safety and shark mitigation.
“The Little Ripper UAV certainly proved itself today, it is an amazingly efficient piece of lifesaving equipment and a delight to fly,” Sheridan said in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I was able to launch it, fly it to the location, and drop the pod all in about one to two minutes. On a normal day that would have taken our lifeguards a few minutes longer to reach the members of the public.”
