DJI counts more than 500 people rescued by drones around the world

More than 500 people around the world have been rescued from danger by drones, according to new statistics collected by DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology. This milestone came in mid-October, when sheriff’s deputies used a DJI drone with a thermal imaging camera to find a missing 93-year-old woman in a dark field in Missouri.

DJI lists rescues from around the world on the DJI Drone Rescue Map, which tracks more than 300 incidents when police, firefighters, rescue squads and bystanders have used drones to save people from danger since the first known rescue in 2013. Drones have found missing people in darkness, helped rescuers plot paths out of hazardous terrain, brought life preservers to people struggling in water, and delivered supplies to stranded people.

“Just a few years ago, drones were an experimental technology for innovators in public safety, and civilians with drones often volunteered to help the professionals in emergencies,” said Romeo Durscher, DJI Senior Director of Public Safety Integration. “Today, public safety agencies across the world have adopted drones as a standard piece of equipment, and drones save people from peril every few days. It’s an astonishing success story for public safety, and for the people who are alive today because of drones.”