Unwary
skiers hurt or lost on the slopes in Europe could find themselves being
presented with an average bill for £16,000 if a search and rescue team is
called out to help them.
According to Columbus Direct, calling out the
mountain search and rescue team can cost thousands of pounds. This can come as a very unwelcome surprise to
many British skiers, who mistakenly believe these services are free as they are
in the UK.
The
company has produced a map showing the average costs for search and rescue
operations. The c research shows that people are more likely to have to pick up
the bill in Europe while in North America, the Coast Guard or National Park
Services will pay for search and rescue operations.
Greg
Lawson of Columbus Direct says, “You may assume local emergency services, local
government or even your own government will cover you if you ever have to be
rescued but in most places this is not the case. If you go off-piste while on
holiday and require search and rescue, you could end up paying the bill. A
rescue in the Swiss Alps can easily cost you around €19,000, while in Idaho
they are allowed to charge up to US$4,000 for saving out-of-bounds skiers.”
When it
comes to the different types of costs associated with search and rescue
operations, air ambulance repatriation was by far the most expensive bill to
pay, costing around £50,000.
General
costs associated with search and rescue operations in Europe:
- Helicopter- up to £2100 an hour
- Airlift
to hospital- up to £2500
- Repatriation- up to £6000
- Helicopter evacuation- up to £9000
- Air
ambulance repatriation- up to £50000
