Lost in the ravine, saved by helicopter: heroic night operation in Massa Lubrense
Late yesterday afternoon, the Civil Protection of Massa Lubrense was alerted regarding the search for a missing person reported in the coastal stretch between Punta Campanella and Baia di Ieranto. The members of the PC Acone and Pontevorvo Volunteer Group immediately intervened on the eastern edge of the San Costanzo pine forest and began the search with the aid of a drone that flew over the area in which the missing person had been sighted, unfortunately due to the strong wind and the fading light after 30 minutes it was no longer possible to use it. The Alpine Rescue Operators Luigi Esposito, Michele Palomba and Roberto Addeo of the CNSAS (National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps) arrived on the site and, together with Costantino Pontecorvo, walked inside the pine forest of S. Costanzo heading towards the sea near the point whose coordinates were reported; the search was demanding and dangerous especially due to the thick vegetation, the instability of the slope and the absolute lack of practicable paths; only thanks to Costantino’s perfect knowledge of the territory, Luigi’s professionalism and the help of the patrol boat personnel of the Port Authority of Capri who guided the operations by sea, was it possible to identify the missing person (in a locality called “Zezzenara” by the inhabitants of Nerano), without any physical trauma, who, having been made safe, was subsequently recovered by the 118 helicopter specialized in night operations and transported to the Ospedale del Mare in Naples. Subsequently the helicopter returned to the site of the discovery to recover Costantino and Lugi who had no other possibility to return from the rescue operations.
Present on Mount San Costanzo to support the operations were the PL Commander Pasqualino Barletta, the Deputy Raffaella Fortunata, the PC Volunteer Valerio Ruocco, as well as the Fire Brigade and the staff of the SAF unit; Also noteworthy is the contribution of Dr. Marco (Agostino) Celentano who allowed the exchange of information between the CNSAS, the operators in the area and the staff who manned the Pineta di S. Costanzo until the end of the operations which took place around 00.30 about.
