A dog lying on the ground covered with ash surrounded by volcanic lava
A Spanish drone operator was allowed Tuesday to try to rescue three emaciated dogs trapped near a volcano in the Canary Islands by capturing them with a remote-controlled net and blowing them over a stream of lava.
Three dogs have been stranded for weeks in an abandoned yard covered with volcanic ash on the island of La Palma.
They have been fed by dropping food packets from drones, but so far no one has figured out how to save them. Helicopters are banned from flying in the area due to the hot gas that could damage their rotors.
After evaluating the proposed rescue operation, emergency officials said in a statement that they had decided to allow it.
The CEO of drone operator Aerocamaras, Jaime Pereira, said he plans to send a 50kg drone equipped with a wide net to try to trap the dogs, and fly them safely 450 meters above the lava.
“This is the first time an animal is being rescued by a drone and the first to be captured,” Pereira told Reuters. “If that’s the last option that dogs have? Then we’re going after them.”
The operator will have only four minutes to trap the dog, and another four minutes to pull him out.
“What we don’t want is running out of batteries while flying over lava,” Pereira said.
Test flights are still being done. Ultimately, the mission depends on how the dogs will respond to the machine, Pereira said.
“They’ve been eating very little for weeks. They may come over, or be scared of drones. We really depend on their reaction.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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