The rescue of the injured woman was carried out by a helicopter from the 85th SAR Centre of Pratica di Mare.

It concluded in the early hours of this morning, with a HH-139B helicopter of the 85th SAR Centre (Search and Rescue) in Pratica di Mare, the recovery of a hiker remained stuck on Monte Miletto, one of the highest peaks in the Matese mountains, in the Campobasso area.

The request for intervention from the Air Force came from National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) Molise, shortly after midnight yesterday. The girl, who was injured in a particularly inaccessible area of the Matese massif, was first reached by a CNSAS team. However, due to the nature of the terrain and the woman's critical condition, a rescue using a winch was necessary.

The intervention by’85° SAR Centre, whose helicopter took off shortly after two in the morning from Pratica di Mare and arrived at the recovery site after about fifty minutes, immediately proved complex due to strong gusts of wind, making the recovery operations particularly long and complicated, with the need to travel away to refuel at Capodichino airport in order to continue the flight mission.

With the contribution of mountain rescue personnel, once the woman, suffering from multiple traumas, was moved to a position on the mountain more suitable for helicopter rescue, it was finally possible to secure the patient, using a special air-transportable stretcher, along with one of the CNSAS technicians, to the Winch down from the’in-flight crew. Once on board, around 7:00 AM, the helicopter headed to the Molise Civil Protection Air Base, in Campochiaro (CB), where an ambulance and medical staff from the 118 emergency service transported the patient to the hospital. At this point the’HH-139B, after a second refuelling at Capodichino, it was able to return to Pratica di Mare and resume operational readiness in support of the community.

The 85th SAR Centre depends on 15th Air Wing of Cervia which guarantees, 24 hours a day, seamlessly, the Search and rescue In difficulty, also participating in public utility activities such as searching for people lost at sea or in the mountains, urgent medical transport of patients in imminent danger of death, and rescue of severely traumatised individuals, operating also in complex weather conditions.

From its establishment to the present day, the crews of the 15th Wing have saved thousands of lives. Since 2018, the Department has also acquired the AIB (Forest Firefighting) capability, contributing to the prevention and fighting of fires throughout the national territory within the inter-force system deployed by the Armed Forces.