The ADAC rescue helicopter, referred to as the “yellow angel”, is stationed at the Saarbrücken Clinic in Saarland. This helicopter, named “Christoph 16”, was deployed on 1,206 missions in the previous year. Interestingly, this number is lesser than the 1,377 missions it undertook the year before.
The decline in the number of operations carried out by the ADAC air rescue can be attributed to the expanded responsibilities given to emergency paramedics since the middle of 2022. Another helicopter, “Christoph 66”, which is stationed in West Palatinate, carried out 1788 missions and was also deployed in 38 emergencies in Saarland.
Most of the rescue operations in Saarland were due to emergencies related to the cardiovascular system, such as heart attacks and cardiac arrhythmias, accounting for 35 percent of the total missions. In 29 percent of cases, the missions were undertaken to treat injuries resulting from accidents. These accidents were of various types, including leisure, sports, school, and traffic accidents.
Neurological emergencies like strokes, cerebral hemorrhages, and seizures accounted for 12 percent of the missions. In these cases, the rescue helicopter was summoned to provide immediate medical aid.
Across the country, Bavaria recorded the highest number of ADAC air rescue missions in 2023, with 12,998 flights, a slight decrease from the previous year’s 13,423. Other states like Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony recorded 8761 (9313 in the previous year), 5796 (6503 in the previous year), and 5705 missions (5903 in the previous year) respectively.
On an average, air rescuers in Germany are deployed 140 times a day. The total number of emergencies addressed by ADAC rescue helicopters in 2023 was 51,347. The helicopters “Christoph 23” in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, and “Christoph 15” in Straubing, Bavaria, each responded to 2,020 emergencies, the most among all units.
The non-profit organization ADAC-Air rescue, with its fleet of 55 rescue helicopters and 37 stations, is one of the largest air rescue organizations in Europe. To date, it has carried out over 1.2 million rescue missions.
