Szolnok SAR soldiers train Bosnian mountain rescuers

The aim of the agreement is to ensure the mutual assistance of the two organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina during special rescue operations where there is a need for deploying helicopters. The mountain rescuers were recently trained in the winching procedures of the Hungarian H145M helicopters serving with EUFOR. Learning the method of winching presents a great challenge, since the safe hooking of the injured and ourselves requires a lot of circumspection.

To carry out the task, two paratroopers search and rescue (PARA-SARs) arrived in Camp Butmir from the HDF 86th Helicopter Wing in the first week of November. The three-day training course was attended by eight volunteer mountain rescuers. The execution of the tasks in practice was preceded by academic training, complemented with ground-based drills. Here, beyond the basic safety rules as well as the arm signals and the techniques used, special emphasis was laid on the precise use of the equipment, as even a little mistake may have fatal consequences. In the practical phase, the members of the organization were using their own alpine technique protective gears.

In the first phase of the flying missions, the participants carried out hoisting individually and in pairs, down from the helicopter and back. This was followed by hoisting a litter, where they had to get a test dummy up to the helicopter in a Tyromont item of equipment, first with spinning avoidance of the hoist cable, and then without it, with their own control of the cable motion. The local specialist carried out dozens of hoisting day and night.

At the end of the training involving a serious workload, Major General László Sticz PhD handed over certificates for completing the training session to the mountain rescuers. As a result of the unprecedented cooperation, from now on the members of the foreign NGO are able to get the injured on board of the Hungarian helicopters, even individually.