An HH-139B helicopter from the 85th SAR Centre of Pratica di Mare has rescued the group stranded on Monte Amaro at an altitude of approximately 2000 metres.

During the evening yesterday, an Italian Air Force crew responded to rescue four young hikers who were stranded on the Maiella massif in Abruzzo. The group was in a difficult-to-access area of Monte Amaro, at an altitude of approximately 2000 metres, in a high-risk situation due to low temperatures and the onset of hypothermia.

The rescue operation, launched at the request of the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) of Abruzzo, was coordinated by the Situation Room of the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) of the Aerospace Operations Command at Poggio Renatico (FE), the Armed Forces' command and control centre responsible for managing all operational search and rescue activities.

The HH-139B helicopter of the 85th SAR (Search and Rescue) Centre in Pratica di Mare, which took off promptly from the Roman base, reached the operational area despite difficulties relating to the mountainous environment and darkness. Once the four youngsters were located, the crew proceeded to rescue them and ensure their safety on board the aircraft, heading immediately to Chieti hospital to hand them over, shaken but in stable condition, to the care of medical personnel.

The operation concluded successfully at around 10:30 PM. Subsequently, the helicopter was redeployed to Pescara Airport for technical refuelling operations, before returning to its permanent base at Pratica di Mare.

The positive outcome of the operation is the result of the constant training and technical preparation of the Air Force crews, who are ready to intervene rapidly even in complex environmental contexts. The service, carried out daily for the benefit of the community, makes use of consolidated procedures and constant coordination with civil rescue organisations throughout the national territory.

The 85th S.A.R. Centre is one of the units of the 15th Wing of the Italian Air Force that guarantees, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, continuously, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty, also contributing to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, the urgent sanitary transport of patients in life-threatening conditions and the rescue of seriously injured individuals.