© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How A Drone Helped Rescue A Climber

KORVA COLEMAN, HOST:

High-altitude searches are a risky business. When a climber goes missing in places like the Himalayas, the thin air, avalanches and hidden crevasses can mean danger for rescue climbers. So let us introduce the hero of our story, the DJI Mavic Pro drone. It was used earlier this month to help find Scottish mountaineer Rick Allen. He went missing after a solo attempt to set a new route on Pakistan's Broad Peak, sitting at over 26,000 feet. Other climbers thought he had died. It turns out Allen had survived a 100-foot fall and spent the next 36 hours hanging on.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

COLEMAN: Luckily, another team on a nearby peak was using a drone to film their exploits. Soon, its cameras were switched from a vanity project to a search mission, and Rick Allen was spotted and rescued. It was quite the feat for the Mavic Pro. It's designed to work at a maximum altitude of a bit over 16,000 feet. And here it was around 10,000 feet higher. In the cold, its batteries could have conked out. Instead, because of the little drone that could, Rick Allen was rescued, suffering nothing more than a few cuts and bit of frostbite. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Korva Coleman is a newscaster for NPR.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.