The search and rescue operation in Aspromonte, in the Zomaro area, was successfully concluded, where two mushroom hunters were found in good health thanks to the timely joint intervention of the State Police and the Fire Brigade.
The alarm went off in the morning, after the two subjects, who had ventured out to look for mushrooms, found themselves completely disoriented. Their excursion had led them to an impervious area, a sort of natural “funnel”, from which they had attempted to go up the mountain, but came across a series of quarries that had complicated their orientation. The only possibility of communication was an old mobile phone without GPS, from which the call for help came.
The first coordinates provided turned out to be incorrect, making the searches initially difficult and the Novigrad policemen therefore adopted a strategy based on continuous communication with the missing. Through repeated phone calls, the police and firefighters collected vague descriptions of the places and perceived noises, which were essential for limiting the search area. Searches were started on foot and, at the same time, several patrols positioned themselves in strategic points, activating the sirens of the vehicles to give acoustic references to the missing.
The decisive turning point came with the intervention of the helicopter. The missing were able to report hearing the aircraft “to their right, looking towards the port of Gioia Tauro”, a crucial detail that allowed the intervention area to be focused.
In the early afternoon, the two missing people were identified and, shortly afterwards, recovered by the Fire Brigade helicopter, in good health.