AST Digital Magazine April 2017 April 2017 | Page 27

Volume 11
April 2017 Edition
Drones Have Rescued
at Least 59 People
from Life-Threatening
Danger
DJI Releases First Count Of
Lives Saved By Drones
DJI has released the first-
ever survey of lifesaving
drone activity, finding that
drones have rescued at least
59 people from life-threatening
conditions in 18 separate inci-
dents around the globe.
More than one-third of the people rescued
were saved by drones operated by civilian by-
standers and volunteers offering their services
to help professional rescue personnel, indicating
that the widespread adoption of personal drones
offers a concrete benefit to public safety.
DJI Director of
Education
Ro-
meo
Durscher,
participates
in
Rigorous Studies
of Drones In Moun-
tain Rescues Show-
ing Lifesaving Potential
The full report, with links to
media coverage of each inci-
dent, is available at this link.
As drones have become more widely used by
public safety agencies as well as individuals, the
rate of lifesaving drone work now averages al-
most one per week.
DJI’s report is based on a survey of media re-
ports collected from around the world, and al-
most surely undercounts the number of lifesav-
ing activities undertaken with drones.
It includes rescues made on land, on water and in
flooded areas, as drones found missing people,
brought them water and supplies, and in several
cases brought them life jackets or rescue ropes.
“The clear conclusion is that drones are regu-
larly saving lives around the world,” concludes
the report from DJI’s Policy & Legal Affairs De-
partment.
“This is occurring even though professional
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