on Tuesday (19), A Spanish drone operator has been given permission to try to rescue three dogs trapped near a volcano in the Canary Islands, capturing it with a remote-controlled net and raising it above the lava flow.
The three dogs have been trapped for weeks in a deserted backyard covered in volcanic ash on the island of La Palma.
They were fed by drones that had dropped food packets, but so far no one has been able to figure out how to rescue them. Helicopters are prohibited from flying into the area due to the hot gas that can damage their rotors.
After evaluating the proposed rescue mission, emergency authorities said in a statement that they had decided to allow it.
Jaime Pereira, CEO of drone operator Aerocamaras, said he plans to send a 50-kilogram drone with a wide net to try to catch the dogs, one by one, and take them to safety, flying 450 meters above the flowing lava.
“This is the first time an animal has been rescued by drone and the first time it has been captured,” Pereira told Reuters. “If this is the dogs’ last choice? So let’s chase them.”
The operator will only have four minutes to attract a dog to the net and another four minutes to fly it.
“What we don’t want is to run out of battery when flying over lava,” Pereira said.
Test flights are still in progress. Ultimately, Pereira said, the task depends on how the dogs respond to the machine.
“They have been eating very little for weeks. They may come over or be afraid of the drone. We really depend on your reaction.”
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