Hostile environment

Some moments of the demanding helicopter rescue operations in the Dolomites (Italian Alps), a unique but hostile environment that every day presents countless problems and challenges to the people involved in bringing rescue to the residents and above all to the millions of tourists from all over the world.

Providing adequate and effective rescue to people in distress can often be a challenge. But the challenge becomes truly demanding when rescue must be carried out in a hostile environment: high altitudes, rock walls, isolated mountain trails and huts, inaccessible places out of reach for traditional emergency vehicles. I have documented from the inside some moments of these special operations in the Dolomites, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the area considered to be the most fascinating in the Italian Alps. Rescue operations here are carried out with a helicopter that carries on board pilot, winch operator, mountain rescue technician, doctor and nurse.