At least four dogs they find each other trapped and fenced by the lava emanated from the volcano that erupted on September 19 in Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, as revealed by the Leales.org platform. The animals remain in two ponds located near a house in the neighborhood of The Paradise, in El Paso, with hardly any food or water.
While companies Ticom and Volcanic Life they have taken care of bring them supplies with drones during the last week, one of the dogs has already passed away, while the others are running out of time. For this reason, the Galician company Aerocámaras is finalizing an unprecedented operation of rescue “against the clock”, as announced by the entity itself. “Already we have everything prepared and we will inform you about the possible rescue ”, he assured on his Twitter account.
✅We have everything prepared and we will inform you about the possible rescue.
🔜 From Aerocamaras we want to emphasize that our main objective is to save the lives of dogs.– Aerocamaras Specialists in Drones (@aerocamaras) October 16, 2021
Jaime Pereira, CEO of Aerocámaras, has highlighted in statements to The country that it is a “unprecedented maneuver, it has never been done in the world. But it is that, or allow them to die ”. Currently, it is list all logistics and the company only expects “the authorization by the competent authorities in emergencies “ to start extraction.
“As it is a unique operation in Spain, and because it carries the risk of air transport of live animals, a special permit from the competent authorities is necessary ”, he specified in a release Aerocámaras, who also claims to be a company that “always works within the law”, with which it will respect the decision adopted by these authorities.
Just five minutes to perform the maneuver
The Galician company details that it will use “a cargo drone that will transport its own logistics system adapted to the characteristics of the animals ”. The device measures two and a half meters in diameter, it is capable of supporting 24 kilos and is “very stable when transporting loads ”. Later, “together with another support drone, the pilot in charge of the operation will be able to plan the rescue flight safely ”.
However, Pereira acknowledges that “The capture system is the most complicated”, since it is not the same to transport boxes of food or objects than living beings. The drone will have to make a tour of 450 meters one way and as many back. Once placed on the dogs, a net prepared by the engineering department which is able to go down stiff with wet food bait for “lure the dog to the center of the net”. Once inside, the main drone would soar, with one dog for each trip. “If a problem occurs, we have planned a quick release system to put the animal back on the ground,” explains the CEO of the company.
This process will be “against the clock”, since it must be done in a very short time. “Have five minutes to the capture maneuver. If we see that we go over, we abort and start over ”, explains the manager in Antenna 3 News. “Will two test flights to see that conditions are good. And if the drone falls due to temperature, at least the dog does not fall ”, he adds.
Donations to care for the dogs
While the rescue operation is being finalized, Aerocámaras has recalled that the initiative launched by Leales.org so that citizens can help with donations to meet the costs of caring for the dogs. “Trapped animals still need help for their maintenance and, once rescued, they will need veterinary support and cares”, States the company.