‘I had to choose who to save’: helicopter pilot reports complexity of rescuing victims in RS | Santa Catarina

“Several people were shaking, helping, putting babies and children up for the helicopter to see, and we had to choose who to save”, he reports.

The helicopter, according to him, often did not have the capacity to carry all the people who asked for help. The pilot has been working in the task force since Wednesday (1st), when the first police officers were sent from Santa Catarina to help the neighboring state.

“We had to make very difficult choices, such as who to rescue and who to leave behind”, he says.

O number of deaths from storms in the state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 83according to a bulletin released by the Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul this Monday (6).

According to the survey, there are 149 thousand people outside their homes, with 20 thousand in shelters and 129 thousand homeless (in the homes of family or friends). In total, 364 of the state’s 496 municipalities recorded some type of problem, affecting 873 thousand people.

PMSC helicopter flies over flooded area in RS to rescue victims on roof

The team of rescuers that Sommer is part of works on rescues from 7am to 5pm, the aircraft’s permitted flight time, stopping only to refuel.

Some of those rescued, according to him, lost half of their family. “We had to swallow our tears and carry out the mission. That was the objective”, he states.

“There were instances where we had to choose to take the child, the mother and leave the father, due to the weight capacity of the aircraft. This is very difficult and something that is also very upsetting because, in truth, we want to save everyone. We just we can’t do it. It’s unfeasible”, he says.

The team helps flood victims in the regions of Porto Alegre, Sarandi, Canoas, Eldorado and São Leopoldo. Many of the victims, according to him, were found on top of houses to be seen by helicopters.

The PMSC did not disclose the number of agents operating in Rio Grande do Sul for “security reasons”, but reported that the teams are from the aeronautical command and the Military Environmental Police.

“We received a specific call to carry out a rescue at such and such a house, with such a number, on such a street. But we got there and the house no longer existed, the street no longer existed, it only existed on Google Maps”, reports the lieutenant -colonel.

According to the Águia 07 pilot, when residents saw the rescuers approaching, many tried to throw themselves into the aircraft, in a race for their lives.

More than 500 stranded people are rescued by firefighters from SC in RS

Many rescued people waited for help on roofs and even in trees.