A serious accident took place during the night of Thursday to Friday, November 29. An 18-year-old student suffered a heavy fall after climbing to the top of Monte Rotondo (Upper Corsica).
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It was an extremely delicate operation which took place last night, on the heights of Monte Rotondo, the highest point of the second highest massif in Corsica. Around 2:30 a.m., Haute-Corse emergency services were called: a young man had just fallen heavily while coming down the mountain and lost consciousness.
The man, aged 18, left in the middle of the night to climb Monte Rotondo. He was accompanied by a friend, both students at the University of Corte. Once they reached the summit, they went back down and it was at that moment that the victim slipped and slipped about twenty meters in the snow.
“The man lost consciousness and complained of severe pain in his pelvis.“, describes a rescuer from High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoons (PGHM) of Corsica. The two friends were located at more than 2270 meters above sea level, just above Lake Oriente, barely 300 meters below the summit.
The Borgo PGHM team was sent to the scene with the Dragon 2B helicopter.
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© PGHM
The Borgo PGHM team was sent to the scene with the Dragon 2B helicopter. But arriving near the accident zone, the rescuers discovered that the two boys were in a very delicate area. “It was very windy, it was very difficult to get close. There were several maneuvers, several attempts to land the helicoptere”, describes Adjutant William Dammy, of the Corsican PGHM.
After several attempts, the helicopter managed to land, but quite far from the victim. The two rescuers were placed on a rocky outcrop and joined the young boy on foot, carrying the rescue equipment in the snow, for almost an hour. The situation was very complicated.
Arriving on the scene, emergency services took care of the young person, who was evacuated to Bastia hospital at 6 a.m.
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© PGHM
Arriving on the scene, emergency services took charge of the young person, who was evacuated to Bastia hospital at 6 a.m. His life is not in danger, but he suffers from a significant pelvic injury. His friend is also evacuated, he is in shock and is slightly hypothermic.
After almost 4 hours of intervention, the story ends rather well. The PGHM-Corsica adjutant remembers that in the same place, in 1983, a Corte teacher had fallen in the same way and in the same weather conditions. He had lost his life.
“At the team level, we planned ahead. The drama of 1983 was on our minds. This young person lost consciousness, an injury to the pelvis can be very serious and can be associated with hemorrhage. It was cold and there was a real risk of death“, confides Warrant Officer William Dammy.
It was also after this tragic accident that the PGHM Corsica was created.
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