Rescue on Pelister: injured person with fractures to both lower legs extracted from steep terrain
Rescue teams and park rangers reached the injured person after a 112 call; the patient was handed over to Bitola emergency services for transfer to hospital.
An injured person with fractures to both lower legs was rescued this afternoon from difficult terrain above Malo Ezero in Pelister National Park and transported to the park's Info Center, where Bitola emergency teams were to take over and transfer the patient to the clinical hospital in Bitola.
Rapid multi-agency response
The emergency call was received on the single European emergency number 112 at 12:04, after which relevant services were immediately activated. Rescue teams and park rangers worked to reach the injured person despite the steep and hard-to-reach slopes above the lake.
According to the Center for Crisis Management: "The person sustained fractures to both lower legs and was conscious, but during movement there was bleeding. Immediately after receiving the report, through PORKOA RCMC Bitola all relevant services were notified, including the Bitola Emergency Medical Service, Bitola Police, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue in Bitola, the Bitola Fire and Rescue Unit, and Pelister National Park. A team from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue – Bitola immediately headed to the injured person, while Pelister National Park activated its ranger service. Due to the inaccessibility of the terrain, air support for transport of the injured was requested. In the meantime, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue team managed to reach the injured person and began ground transport with an off-road vehicle. At 13:45, the teams from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue – Bitola and Pelister National Park met near the hunting lodge 'Lovechka Kuca', where a doctor from the Bitola Emergency Medical Service provided medical assistance to the injured," the Center for Crisis Management reported this afternoon.
Teams moved the patient along the prepared route to the park's Info Center, from where the emergency medical crew from Bitola took responsibility for further treatment and hospital transfer.
Authorities said the operation included cooperation between civilian protection and rescue units, park rangers and police, and that the use of an off-road vehicle was decisive given the steep terrain; aerial evacuation had been considered but the ground teams were able to extract the injured person to the meeting point with EMS personnel.
Photo: press material from the event
